Seen Through the Windows
by Malakas
Summary: Naruto just defeated Pain. As he returns to the village he has a lot on his mind including achieving world peace and saving his best friend. However, without an exact or logical reason, he needs to see the girl who almost sacrificed her life for him.
1. Serendipity

Hey, all. Thank you for checking out my first story. I would highly suggest googling "Japanese Honorifics" if you are not familiar with them as I used them when possible. Also, I would highly recommend knowing "Naruto" up through the end of the "Pain Arc." I would love to keep writing more chapters, and I have a direction of where I want to take this, so please take the time to review. This would really help me to knock out the next chapters faster, and as well as helping me to improve my writing. Thanks again!

Last, this is a creative story based off of Kishimoto-sensei's "Naruto" manga. All names, places, etc. belong to him.

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Chapter 1

"Serendipity"

An exhausted ninja is being carried by his Sensei, through the thick forest, littered with huge Evergreen trees. This ninja, a teenage blond whose short-spiky hair is the color of the summer sun and whose dark blue eyes portray resilient strength and deceptive naïveté, just saved his village from destruction.

His Sensei, a silver-haired ninja who is arguably the most powerful Jounin in all of Konoha asked his student, "Are you ok?"

Automatically, Uzumaki Naruto answered, "Yeah, Kakashi-sensei, I am."

In fact, Naruto was not alright. His Chakra levels were dangerously low, and his mental resilience almost gone. A lot has been weighing on his mind, lately.

First and foremost, he wanted, no needed, to save his best friend Uchiha Sasuke from self-inflected darkness and despair. Second, he promised his teammate and love interest Haruno Sakura that he would save Sasuke, whom Sakura loves, even if it took his entire life to accomplish.

Next, he has to find a solution to bring ever-lasting peace to the world, and somewhere in-between he needs to talk to a girl who almost sacrificed her life for him.

All these thoughts swirled lazily in his head as he rode on his Sensei's back to the village. Naruto did not know what to expect back at Konoha.

'_Were the villagers ok? What are they going to do about their homes, food, and the injured? There should be nothing left of Konoha except a giant crater in the earth._' Naruto pondered lazily, his gaze on the passing trees.

However, hearing a loud commotion like a large gathering of people, Naruto focused on the destination in front of him. His spirits lifted heartily once he saw what was waiting for him back at Konoha. Everyone in the village was eagerly waiting his return, yelling, screaming, waving, smiling, laughing, and chanting, "Naruto! Naruto!"

It was a sight completely new to him. He was used to everyone shunning him or talking behind his back. Now those same villagers smiled joyously at him. He could not help but get caught up in everyone's excitement and smile with them.

He was escorted by laughing children and friends while he and Kakashi-sensei made their way to the middle of the crowd where a lovely young lady waited for him.

Sakura, Naruto's teammate and close friend, kept her pink hair professionally shoulder-length. Her green eyes were generously filled with kindness and compassion, yet those same eyes can quickly turn into jade demons when angered. As the successor to Gondaime Hokage Senju Tsunade, she not only inherited Tsunade's unparalleled medical/healing ninjitsu, but she also acquired her Herculean physical strength. Naruto has been at the wrong end of Sakura's brutality many times, but this time he was completely taken off guard as Sakura didn't punch him (as she usually does when he does something reckless), but instead gave him a tender and affectionate hug. Naruto, utterly surprised, relished in this rare form of affection from the girl he had a crush on for more than three years. He looked into her eyes and saw the bashful admiration she had for him. He almost completely forgot his problems when she said, "Come on, Naruto! Everyone wants to see you!" Sakura grabbed Naruto's hand and lead him deeper into the crowd to meet the other villagers.

As the evening turned into night, he was congratulated by virtually everyone, including Naruto's substitute captain Yamato-taichou and his other Team 7 partner Sai. The typically mysterious and antisocial elite ANBU ninjas clapped him on his back or praised him through animal masks, and to Naruto's utter amazement, even mothers whose faces he remembered, because they were particularly nasty to him as a child, cried joyously in thanks for saving their lives.

Of course, all of Naruto's friends from the other Teams his generation greeted him, often with a friendly jibe, such was the case with Kiba in which he said, "Took you look enough! If you would had taken any longer, I would have had to jump in to finish him off for you, showoff." Naruto just smiled at these acknowledgments, happy that his friends' spirits were still high after all of Konoha's destruction.

A few people could not commemorate his safe return and victory over _Pain_, yet these were the ones he wanted to see the most.

First, Naruto's master Jiraiya would never again be in Konoha with his impressive height and raucous laugh. He missed his old master and surrogate grandfather, remembering the wisdom Ero-Sennin imparted onto him, mostly when it didn't include anything that had to do with women. Bitterly, Naruto pushed the memories away of his old sensei. '_Now is not the time_,' Naruto told himself automatically just like the other times since Jiraiya's death. '_He'll always be watching me from somewhere just like my dad_,' Naruto thought with a smile.

However, his thoughts about the other two people were harder to suppress.

Tsunade was in a coma. Naruto learned this fact from Kakashi on the way back to the village. He wanted to see her to make sure she was alright. Ever since Naruto helped convince Tsunade to return home to be the next Hokage, she has affectionately become his surrogate grandmother.

Unfortunately, upon arriving to Tsunade's medical tent her host of ANBU would not let him through. Loud and throwing a temper as usual, Naruto almost punched the ANBU guard in front of him.

Tsunade's majordomo Shizune, hearing the obvious noise, came out of the tent.

"Shizune-oneechan!" Naruto yelled, "Talk to these guys. They won't let me through. I want to see Tsunade-obaachan…" Naruto looked into Shizune's eyes. All his anger left him when he saw the sadness etched in her face.

"Please, Naruto, Tsunade-sama does not want to be seen in this condition by anyone, most especially you," she said as quietly as possible.

"But…" Naruto weakly spoke. Just then, he felt a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, Naruto. It is the Hokage's wish; give her that much." Kakashi said with his usual perceptiveness. "Plus you will get a chance to see her later. In no time at all, Tsunade-sama will be barking orders from her room in the make-shift hospital." The last statement gave Naruto a small bit of comfort.

Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto of Team 7 left the Hokage's tent to tour the rest of Konoha, and see the extent of the damage to their home.

The last person Naruto wanted to see he kept as a secret. A delicate situation, Naruto did know how to explain to Sakura and Kakashi-sensei his need to see Hyuuga Hinata. He always liked Hinata because she was the only one who respected the totality of his being, meaning that he didn't feel like he had to act a certain way around her.

Around everyone else, he usually behaves like a complete, reckless, and foolish idiot because it is what was expected of him. It is not ideal but at least people noticed and accepted him saying, "Well that's Naruto for you."

Even the friends closer to him, like Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei, didn't know the complete Naruto. They acknowledge his strength, will to never give up and persevere through anything, as well as his dream to become Hokage.

However, Naruto cannot just be "himself" with them. Not the hero, not the idiot, not the guy they've all expected him to act like.

Naruto cannot remember the last time he hung out with Sakura after a mission, not even on a date but just as friends. Kakashi-sensei almost always disappears once they get back from a mission probably to read his dirty novels. Naruto likes Sai but, since he is just learning the concept of emotions again, Naruto does not want to have to teach him the concept having a naturally good time with a friend, without the need of a book.

It is not just because of her absolute acceptance of Naruto that made him want to see Hinata. Since she almost died protecting him, and confessed her love to him to boot, Naruto felt he owed it to her to at least see to her.

About what, he was clueless. He was not in love with Hinata, but not because he was not attracted to her.

Honestly, he just never really gave much thought about love and romantic relationships. Rescuing Sasuke is what usually dominated his thoughts, and every now and then he thinks about Sakura.

On the other hand, this time it was a very different situation. Acting on instinct, he pushed his rational mind aside. '_I just need to see her_,' Naruto kept telling himself as he searched for Hinata.

As the night wore on, families started migrating to makeshift homes or shelters to rest.

During the celebration, Naruto discreetly kept a look out for Hinata. He never thought it would be this hard to find her, but then again he hardly noticed her before. During the occasional times when he did bump into her, she would often play with her fingers, and constantly stumble on her words. Naruto barely had a lengthy conversation with her, especially outside of missions.

As the crowds thinned, things were starting to become quieter around Naruto. Older children were called back to their families while younger ones were scooped up into their parents' loving arms. His friends all went back to their clans or parents.

The happiness he felt during the festivities quickly became replaced by ponderous sadness and responsibility.

With just Kakashi-sensei and Sakura-chan left of the huge crowd that followed him for most of the day, Naruto sighed and resigned himself to finally request some help in locating Hinata.

Sakura, somewhat taken aback by the surprising question responded, "You of course know that Hinata is still alive." Naruto nodded and was very relieved by that vital tidbit of information. Even though he learned of her condition during his fight with _Pain_, hearing it from Sakura lifted his heart a little.

"I healed the damage as best as I could in the field. She's in stable condition but is currently under observation at the make-shift hospital erected by Yamato-taichou."

Naruto, having abandoned his prior secrecy just asked, "Sakura-chan, where is this hospital and which room is she staying in, since I assume there is no desk attendant this late."

"Stupid, it's currently the largest, and only, building left in Konoha. But since it's you, and you'd probably get lost, the hospital is due North-West of here about 500 meters," replied Sakura with a smile. "She's in room 14B, I believe, near the end of the East Wing."

Sakura asked Naruto with a bit of sadness in her voice, "Why do you want to see her this late at night, anyway?"

Naruto was hoping to avoid this question. He put his hands behind his head, put on his famous mischievous smile, and answered, "Because she didn't come see me when I got back."

Then Naruto became serious. "I want to make sure she is okay." Something about the way Naruto said the latter statement plus the sad look on his face gave Sakura the hint to not pursue the inquiry any further.

"Naruto," Sakura said, "Be careful. Even though it is just a make-shift hospital, I'm pretty sure visitor hours are over. The night staff would not like young boys visiting young girls in their rooms, even if the young boy is the hero of Konoha. Also, Hinata is in a private room probably guarded by the Hyuuga clan under Hiashi-sama's (Hiashi is Hinata's father) orders. If you thought getting past ANBU to see Tsunade-sama was tough, you better be extra careful around the Hyuuga clan. You would probably end up in a hospital room, as a patient, if Hiashi-sama found you in there."

Naruto gulped. "Thank you, Sakura-chan. I will be careful."

Short goodbyes and last minute congratulations were exchanged between Team 7 members before going their separate ways. As they were leaving, a certain green-eyed Kunoichi looked back at her friend with some worry.

-/-/-/-/-Meanwhile, at the Konoha make-shift hospital outside room 14b:

"What the hell happened to my daughter, Ko?" Hinata's father roared. "I just got back to Konoha with Hanabi to learn my house is destroyed, my clansmen are injured, Konoha is razed to the ground, and my daughter is in the hospital!"

"My Lord, I was injured. I am sorry. I could not stop her from attacking _Pain_. I tried..."

"Yes! Yes, I know that, Ko. I will address your failures as Hinata's bodyguard later." Ko bowed his head even lower as Hiashi continued, "But now, I want to know why she did it. She is a low-talent shinobi who always fails in her missions. Hinata does not even have the self-confidence to talk assertively, and she always follows whatever Kurenai or the rest of her team does." Ko hesitated as he rapidly tried to formulate his response in his head.

Hiashi glared at Ko with his intimidating white eyes. "I'll ask one more time. Why did she do it, Ko?"

Ko blurted out, "I think it was to protect Uzumaki Naruto, the one who was fighting Pain."

"Okay," Hiashi said the word condescendingly like an impatient parent indulging his brat.

Then he exploded, "The damn Kyuubi boy, but why? Hurry up and answer me!"

The third and mostly silent Hyuuga of the trio spoke up, "Because she loves him, Ojisama."

Beyond the heavy wooden door, resides a sparsely decorated room reminiscent of a modest cabin rather than a hospital room. In the middle of the room, against the wall opposite the door, lays a girl on a sleeping mat. Above the girl, a window exists illuminating the room solely in moonlight. The overworked and exhausted mid-shift nurse probably forgot to close the blinds in her rush to check all the patients in the East wing.

The girl lay serenely in creamy silk sheets, her long blue hair nonchalantly laid across her bare shoulders. The girl's arms cupped each other over her midsection unconsciously over the spot she was stabbed earlier in the day. Virtually, her entire torso was covered in bandages, however one could not tell because her body was covered by a medium-thin but warm blanket. The moonlight illuminated her figure under the blanket, as well as her pale but pretty face.

However, despite the comfortable position she was in, Hinata was not sleeping peacefully. She dreamt of her disapproving father telling her that she was not fit to be the heiress of the Hyuuga clan. He towered over her yelling all her insecurities to her face. Each word that came out of his mouth, materialized as snakes formed into words. The serpents latched onto whatever part of her body they hit, tearing away flesh and hair leaving gory holes in their place. When her father finally closed his mouth, Hinata was on her knees holding her head protectively.

Then, he shoved her aside, and Hanabi her younger sister appeared in front of their father. Hinata was horrified as her father opened his mouth and more snake-words came out, but this time to attack her sister. Fortunately, the snakes did not affect Hanabi, and just bounced right off of her. Hinata looked at her sister, bathed under a spot-light. She posed triumphantly with a smile on her face. If Hinata was not scared for her life she would have been jealous of her sister's resilience and strength. Everything faded to black and the only thing that could be seen was Hanabi in the light.

The dream then switched to Naruto, unconscious, impaled, vertically on a rock, with a black-metal pole through his stomach. Hinata ran over to Naruto wanting nothing more than to remove the rod. As soon as she touched it, however, painful visibly-black chakra burned her hands. She momentarily jumped back but grabbed the pole again steeling herself against the pain she knew would come. This time she held on and pulled with all of her being. The chakra didn't just burn her hands but traveled further along her body the longer she held on. In no time it engulfed her, burning her skin, and reducing all of her clothes to cinders.

Naked, burnt, bleeding from her raw hands and body, the rock behind Naruto became translucent and behind it, dozens of people appeared. All of them, some she knew and most she did not, either started laughing at or cursing her. Eventually, a good amount of them began humiliating and pointing at Naruto with their fingers. Some even had the audacity to pull the black pole on the other side of Naruto's body acting as a counter-force to Hinata's actions, applying just enough pressure to negate her struggle. Crying, Hinata wished the people would just stop and go away.

Suddenly, Naruto lifted his head revealing an eerie serenity about his face. He smiled at Hinata, and as he did the audience in the background became silent. She noticed that they were still pointing and laughing, but at least she could not hear them anymore. Desperately, she then tried to remove the rod again.

Naruto snickered and said, "Don't. You cannot pull it out. You do not understand."

Hinata pleaded, "Naruto-kun, aren't you in pain?"

Naruto lied, "Of course not." He smiled again. "I am fine. Go Hinata, do not worry about me."

"Naruto-kun, let me help you. Please!" She begged. "I see the rod, the rock behind you, and the people. I see them all. You are impaled! Let me help you."

For a split-second, worry creased his calm and serene face. "You cannot pull out the rod. You do not understand. You cannot know my pain. It is too much to bear…" Naruto said again. The audience started pulling the pole again, and this time Naruto's body was being pulled away with it.

Desperate and still holding on to the rod, Hinata did the only thing she thought she could do in this situation: she grabbed her end of the pole and with all her might pierced her side, effectively impaling her too.

Hinata then screamed, not from pain but because she finally saw Naruto's face, his real one. His skin was peeling in several sections, and in its place, blood poured out draining towards something behind him. All of it gravitated towards a large red demon-looking fox with nine tails. It looked like Naruto was struggling, pulling the pole himself, trying to get away from the Kyuubi. Everything about him looked ghastly and inhuman, like a man tortured for far too long.

The only thing not changed between his real and fake face were his eyes. They were still crystal-deep blue despite the torture. Those same eyes, focused on Hinata and Naruto asked, "Why, Hinata? Why do you do this for me?"

"…Because she loves him, Ojisama." Hinata awoke to her cousin's voice.

She was too tired to open her eyes so she just used sound and touch to assess her situation. First, she felt the spot where she was impaled, both earlier in the day and in her dream. It didn't hurt too much, but she told her self to not move for awhile so as not to feel more pain.

Next, she vaguely recalled being admitted into a hospital by Sakura-chan. She assumed she was in a hospital room, and that Ko, Neji-niisan, and probably her father were outside talking.

"What! Hinata loves that demon-fox-boy?" Yelled Hiashi.

"Yes, Oji-sama." Neji replied.

"But how? Other than Ko, Neji, as her cousin and strongest of the branch families, it was your duty to protect her!"

"Yes, Oji-sama."

"Then why? Of all the people in Konoha why did she choose him! Oh my daughter, the grief she gives me. First, she is not even strong enough to carry on as the future head of the Hyuuga clan. Second, she is too timid for her own good. And now this?"

Neji could understand his Uncle's feelings for his daughter. It is the Main Family's duty to ensure the safety and protection of the Hyuuga bloodline and its techniques. The heir or heiress has to be strong; confident enough to command respect, and must keep the Hyuuga bloodline pure and untainted. On the other hand, Neji did not think his uncle knew the extent of Naruto's influence or power.

"Ojisama, Please listen. Remember the Chuunin exam where I fought against Naruto in the final matches? Well, after that match I was changed. Before, I was a caged bird always fighting against my destiny as a branch family member. Uzumaki Naruto taught me the valuable lesson of creating my own destiny, just like my father."

Neji momentarily paused to let this sink in. "Uzumaki Naruto has the power to change people. He makes them listen and believe in him. I did watch over Hinata-sama, Ojisama. I noticed how quickly she gained her resolve when Naruto cheered her on. Kurenai-sensei told me that she is one of the most valuable members of her team, not just because of her Byakugan but also because of her quick reaction times and will to finish the mission and protect her teammates. Ojisama, I think this is all because of Naruto's influence. I heard she even created a new taijutsu, different from the Hyuuga Gentle Fist style today, when protecting Naruto."

Neji stopped talking. He gave time for his uncle to soak in what he just learned. Waiting, Neji started listening to the stillness of the hall. Ten seconds turned into twenty, and twenty into thirty.

He watched the light fixture opposite of Hinata-sama's room. It cast a very large and ominous shadow from Ojisama onto her door. Forty seconds passed in silence.

Neji started wondering what was going through his uncle's mind. '_Maybe Ojisama will ban Hinata-sama from seeing Naruto_.' Neji thought. '_Or would Ojisama do something more drastic like_ _arrange a marriage immediately for her_.' As fifty seconds of silence ensued, Neji contemplated his cousin's reaction to whatever actions her father might do "on her behalf." '_Would she just accept it or_…'

"What is this new taijutsu Hinata created?" Hiashi surprised Neji with his deflecting question. Neji thought that maybe his uncle was stalling because he needs more time to think about this Naruto and Hinata development.

"Well?" asked Hiashi slightly irritated.

"Sorry, Ojisama. I was not there to personally witness the jutsu."

Ko blurted out, "I was Hiashi-sama. It was different from the Gentle-Fist Justsu. It seemed alive like…"

Neji stopped paying attention because he noticed a nurse walking hesitantly towards them. This female nurse looked from door to door and then to them and back to a patient's room. Neji could tell that this nurse was out of place. First, the uniform was not the standard uniform nurses wear in Konoha. On second thought, it actually looked attractive; probably something Jiraiya-sama wished nurses would wear. Next, the girl looked familiar. She was blond, young, pretty, _sexy_, and had two long pony-tails on each side under the cap. The image of the nurse gave Neji the impression that she should be in a brothel not a hospital.

"That idiot!" Neji whispered under his breadth.

"What did you say, Neji, I didn't hear you." Replied his Uncle.

"Sorry, Ojisama, I was just thinking that maybe we're too loud. Why don't we all go to the lobby and Ko-san can explain Hinata-sama's new jutsu to you without keeping his voice down. This way, we do not wake up Hinata-sama or any other patients."

"That is a good idea, Neji. Let's go, Ko."

"Yes, Hiashi-sama," and the Hyuuga trio departed to the lobby. Unfortunately, the only way to the lobby is West from where Naruto is trying to infiltrate. Neji, worried that his uncle would spot Naruto's stupid disguise as easily as he did, walked as inconspicuously as possible.

Fortunately, Neji noticed that Naruto was smart enough to stick to a shadow and pretend to read a patient's clipboard. As they passed him, Neji was surprised that his uncle did not even acknowledge Naruto's presence with a passing glance.

'_Ojisama_ _must really be intrigued or bothered by this recent development of his daughter,_' Neji thought as his concern, for getting caught, ebbed away.

Once the Hyuuga trio walked around the corner, Naruto scolded himself for not trying to copy a real nurse's uniform. Unfortunately, Naruto was honestly not expecting Neji and Hinata's father to be there with the guard.

Surprised to see them when he turned the bend to the East wing, Naruto did the fastest Henge no-jutsu possible without being spotted. He scolded himself again for practicing so much Harem no-jutsu with his younger apprentice Konohamaru, and also for reading Ero-Sennin's "adult" manuscripts.

Once, at the end of the hall Naruto found room 14B. He tentatively opened the door praying it would not squeak too much. Fortunately, besides the door-latch making an annoyingly loud but succinct echoing sound down the hall, the door did not squeak.

Naruto immediately ran in and closed it as quietly as possible while simultaneously releasing the transformation technique.

What he saw stole his heart away. There was Hinata peacefully sleeping on her back, head slightly raised by a pillow.

He gingerly walked towards Hinata's left side careful so as not to wake her. Afterwards, he kneeled down close to her shoulder.

He didn't know what to do or say. He alternated looking between her face and her midsection. Although it seemed like Naruto was eying Hinata's body, he was actually using it as a catalyst for his own memories. When he studied her angelic and peaceful face, Naruto remembered the way it looked when Pain almost killed her. Her eyes were open and glossy, cheeks covered in dirt and cuts, and blood running from her mouth. As his eyes traveled to her midsection he recalled his futile scream as he begged Pain not to stab her.

He also remembers her weak whimper as the rod pierced her body. '_She Probably would have screamed if she wasn't already so close to death._' Naruto thought to himself. '_So close to death…for me…_'

Suddenly it hit him. All his exhaustion and fatigue finally caught up to him. He couldn't dam it up anymore, bury it, or pretend it did not exist. Just that morning he was at Mount Myobuku training to perfect his Sage Mode technique, and now not even 24-hours later he snuck into a make-shift hospital on a crater that used to be Konoha, kneeling over a girl he barely noticed, yet who almost gave her life for him. She almost sacrificed her life because she…loved…him.

Naruto couldn't take it anymore. He started crying.

Hinata did not go back to sleep when she awoke to her family's conversation. She just sat there listening to mostly mumbled voices. The words and phrases she could make out were mainly about her not being good enough, so she didn't care to pay much attention because it's nothing she has not heard before.

Finally, the three voices started to trail off and get softer. Quiet was what Hinata wanted in order to go back to sleep, and she gave a silent sigh when the voices disappeared altogether. She enjoyed the stillness and peace of the night. _Not even a chirping bird to annoy me,' _she thought to herself.

Then Hinata heard the latch unlock and the door open. She mildly startled but then quickly relaxed when she realized that it was probably just the nurse. Her father and Neji-niisan would never let anyone enter her room without permission.

She sensed the nurse move cautiously towards her. '_Maybe that nurse can close the blinds because the moonlight is shining in my eyes,_' Hinata thought to herself satisfied by her rationalizations.

Then she heard a "thud" and sensed a presence near her left did her best to relax with the person in her room, and so close to her.

As the minutes passed, however, Hinata started to get nervous. She started thinking that the nurse is going to give her an injection, or worse, that this person is an intruder.

Hinata was about to open her eyes when she heard sniffling followed by muffled crying. Worried, Hinata immediately opened her eyes to see the man she loved kneeling by her, tears streaming from his glazed eyes.

Naruto was not looking at her face so he did not see her eyes open. Instead, he was looking at her midsection where she was stabbed.

"Naru…Naruto-kun," Hinata silently mouthed. She did not know what to do. This was sudden and utterly unexpected. She wanted to say something, anything, to get him to stop crying. Unfortunately, she felt weak and embarrassed. Hinata barely had on any clothes under the thin blanket, and was essentially exposed to the boy she loved. She wanted to move, sit-up, cover herself more and be more presentable.

Instead, hesitation and inaction won in the end, and she just lay there, staring at this blond teenager in his most vulnerable state. She closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep, still seeing his face in her mind, hearing him cry and whimper. _'What should I do what should I do?' _Hinata thought to herself. '_How can I help him?'_

Suddenly, Naruto spoke, "Hinata, I'm so sorry." Slowly and hesitantly, Naruto said, "I should have been there to protect you. I should not have let _Pain_ beat me."

He gained momentum as he kept speaking. "If I was stronger none of this would have happened. You wouldn't have jumped in to save me, and you would have never gotten hurt."

Naruto cried a little more. "It's all my fault. If I was not so weak then Tsunade-obaachan would not be in a coma. Sasuke would not have made it to Orochimaru, and Ero-Sennin would still be alive!" Naruto stifled a sob at admitting the last part, taking some time to recover.

"I even broke my promise of not using the Kyuubi's power anymore. I vowed never to use it again when I injured Sakura-chan. This time I almost completely allowed the Kyuubi to take over. If it weren't for my dad…" Naruto whimpered and then continued, "Thank God I did not injure you or any of the other villagers. I was too weak to resist the Kyuubi…"

Hinata heard Naruto's confession of weakness with a breaking heart. She could not understand everything he was saying, yet she was wise enough to know that this was not just about her, but instead, concerning everything that's been weighing on his soul.

She wondered if anyone knew just how much pressure was on Naruto. '_Does Sakura-chan or Kakashi-sensei even know?_' she asked herself. _'If that's the case then why is he here?_' Hinata resolved to help Naruto. She loved him, cared for him, so why should she not be a friend when he truly needed her?

"Naruto…Naruto-kun." she said softly. "Please stop crying. Everything will be ok."

Naruto immediately looked at her face with shock and sadness. "I'm sorry, Hinata, I did not mean to wake you." He then smiled, wiping the tears from his eyes, "Well I guess it would happen if I cry like a baby next to you while you sleep."

Hinata could see that Naruto was doing it again. He was flashing his famous smile, the one that dispels worries, makes people want to follow him, and melts the ice around people's hearts. '_I could look at that smile forever_,' she thought. However, Hinata also knew that he was trying to bury his sadness within himself like he always does. Now that he knew she was awake, Naruto would try and play it off as some joke or just do the shallow-idiot routine he has become infamous for.

Hinata did not know why Naruto was here or why he was crying. Still, it was obvious he was hurting badly. She could not bear the thought of looking at his face and seeing the insidious pain behind it. She did not want him to repress his unspoken emotions, around her, like he does with everybody else.

Despite her body's objections, Hinata sat-up a little bit and looked straight into Naruto's soul. A firm believer that the eyes are the windows to one's soul, she looked straight through those bright cerulean eyes to see the agony underneath. Similar to her dream, she saw it, felt it, held it, and tried to understand how it affected Naruto so gravely.

Finding an answer, Hinata used his pain as resolve for what she needed to say.

Naruto was captivated by her eyes. Usually, lavender in the day light, they glowed silver-lavender in the moonlight. He could not help but keep staring into them, enchanted by their ethereality. He honestly felt like he was looking into an Angel's eyes.

"Naruto-kun you are brave," the Angel spoke. "You are the bravest person I know. Please do not worry. It was not your fault what happened to the village (or to me she thought to herself). Nobody knew what _Pain_ was capable of. It is not fair to you to always be the one to save everyone else, to be everyone's hero, especially, when you cannot confide in anyone else." Naruto gasped audibly.

"Yes, Naruto-kun I know. I do not need my Byakugan to tell that you are hurting. Ever since we were young I would watch how my parents and everyone else's parents treated you. If it were me, I probably would have cried myself to sleep every night. But not you, Naruto-kun. You took their insults and turned it into fuel for your self-confidence. I was jealous and very intrigued. I wanted to talk to you and be friends with you, but I was too timid. I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. I believe you would have had an easier childhood if I just spoke up." Hinata said that last statement with a forlorn smile, remembering past events.

"Instead, I admired you from afar. I noticed your strength and your self-confidence increasing as time went on. People started noticing you. I cannot tell you how happy I was when you became a Gennin and made your first bond with Iruka-sensei. I wish it could have been me who was your first bond, but I was just happy that you were not alone anymore.

"You saved me. If it weren't for you I would probably still be at home timidly listening to my father's insults. Instead, I fell in love you with you, Naruto-kun. I didn't realize it at the time, but it happened during the Chuunin exams. Your confidence in me inspired me to fight and face death. I knew Neji-niisan wanted to hurt me, probably wanted to kill me, but I did not care because I was fighting in front of the person I admired. You, finally noticing me, gave me the strength I needed to stand up for myself."

"What I did today was selfish. I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. I did not know you were constantly suppressing the Kyuubi's chakra." Naruto looked down momentarily ashamed of himself. "You make it seem so easy to do with your care-free attitude and generous smile." He looked back. "Only strong heroes can repress demons inside them, and you must be the strongest to have been able to hold back the Kyuubi for this long. I cannot imagine the pain it causes you everyday to fight the Kyuubi from taking over you."

Hinata paused as tears streamed down her face. "I could not watch you get taken by _Pain_. It was just too much to bear. I'd rather die a 100 times by _Pain_ or even the Kyuubi if it gave you even a small chance of staying alive." Naruto was taken aback by Hinata's honesty. Tears started streaming down his face again.

He wanted to touch her hand, give her a hug, and do anything to show how much her words meant to him. Instead, he just kept staring into her eyes; watching the light glimmer off of her tears. The effect was surreal as if he was in a dream.

"All of Konoha is proud of you. We have acknowledged your strength and thank you for everything you have done, and everything you will do for us as the future Hokage." Naruto's eyes widened at the her complete affirmation of his dream. "Your dream will be realized, Naruto-kun. Your own self-confidence will make it happen.

"I know the pressures have been rough on you. You have done a lot for us since coming back with Jiraiya-sama. You do not have a person who you can confide in; I see it in your eyes. If you allow me, Naruto-kun, I will listen to you. I will take your pain away, make it my own, and do my best to help you get rid of it…together…as friends."

Naruto was stunned speechless. He came here on instinct not knowing why, what to do, or what to say. He couldn't even pinpoint his original reason for coming here in the first place. '_Was it for an apology, a sense of responsibility, or duty to a friend?_' Naruto thought. '_Maybe it was because I just wanted to see her…could it be that simple_?'

"I'm exhausted now, Naruto-kun." Hinata told her love after a few moments' pause. Naruto, still entranced by her eyes noticed the Angel close them slowly. When her eyes shut, the enchanted effect ended. However, her beauty in the moonlight did not diminish at all, nor the importance of her words.

He smiled quickly regaining some of the composure lost when his mental guard broke down.

"Hinata…thank you," Naruto said with rising confidence. "You're right. I do not know why I doubted myself in the first place," was all Naruto said with his famous smile, a bit of the usual sparkle in his sad eyes, and of course his care-free laugh.

Hinata's only reply was a small, yet genuine, smile showing relief and gratitude in its most basic form. Almost immediately, Naruto heard the familiar rhythmic breathing of sleep coming from Hinata.

Naruto slowly got up off of his knees. He was exhausted to the bone, but elated as well. He felt like he strengthened an important bond. '_It is true what Hinata told me_,' Naruto admitted to himself in all seriousness. '_Maybe she can help me_. _How could I have not noticed her before? Was I this blind?_' These new feelings and thoughts emerged as he turned to exit the room.

As Naruto walked towards the door, he stopped. On impulse probably from lack of sleep, and the impact of his visit, he reached over to Hinata's body. Tentatively, he touched her hand through the blanket, holding it as he hooked his fingers to cup her palm.

"Thank you, Hinata-chan; really… thank you," Naruto confessed dearly to his sleeping friend.

Her subtle reply had been a slight but definite squeeze to his fingers. Naruto then released her soft hand, feeling some reluctance from her, '_Or was it me,_' Naruto hazily thought. Thoughts swirling and sleep quickly catching up to him, he left the room as quietly as possible.

If he had looked back one more time, however, he probably would have seen a deep-red faced Hinata with a sanguine smile on her sleeping face.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Well, that's the end to Chapter 1. I wanted to write a romance story where falling in love wasn't so easy and automatic (at least with Naruto). Obviously, I've delved deeper into the mindsets of Naruto and Hinata not expressed in the Manga, and I hated how Kishimoto did not even have Naruto address Hinata's confession of love for him.

I know there are tons of NaruHina love stories out there and I do not know how this one will do with the readers. Please review and comment because knowing people want the next chapter really helps me to knock them out faster. Also, I would appreciate any constructive input. Thanks again!

Edit: I fixed the horrible formatting and even added a real title.


	2. Reality and the Rice Field

"Reality and the Rice Field"

* * *

Prologue

In the warm afternoon sun, a teenager walked all alone on a mostly unused dirt road. On his right, parallel to the road and flanked by two streams, ran a submerged pool of gently running water. Undetectable unless one's looking, the current passed through and around rows of planted rice. Sprouts barely breaking the surface of the water swayed gently in the breeze.

On his left, stood old and decrepit buildings; mills and houses haphazardly built where trees were cut down. Behind the ancient edifices, a sheer vertical mountain rose casting a shadow on the valley below.

The ninja has never visited the rice farms outside of Konoha-proper before. Mostly unused due to long standing trade routes to established paddy fields throughout the fire country, they were built back at the foundation of Konoha when war and strife mandated a close source of food. Currently, the farms are kept only by a handful of people preferring a quiet way of life compared to the growing city of Konoha.

Nestled in a valley at the foot of a small mountain, it is about a forty-five minute walk outside the North gate. Fed by a river leading down the mountain, it saturated a low-sloping muddy area about a one and a half kilometers long and one hundred meters wide. The would-be farmers in the past saw the potential of the land, and so they partially dammed the area, creating pools of water on top of rich muddy soil. Partially due to the shade of the mountain peak to the East, as well as being a natural wind-tunnel, the water never evaporated. This made an ideal and beautiful location to plant rice

The blond shinobi had to admit there was something peaceful about this place, reminiscent of the person he wanted to see. He walked along the road searching for her. Naruto noticed that even with the influx of extra people, it was still quiet compared to the constant cacophony of construction and people in Konoha.

He had a mission to complete. His mandate was to find this girl and give her the present he and the others worked so hard to find.

However, when he saw his target the scenic beauty faded leaving only her in his vision.

About one kilometer away, on the fourth quadrangle of fertile land, a simple girl was wading in the water. She had dark blue hair, eyes like a faint lavender moon, and a pale yet matching complexion. She wore a simple weave shirt, khaki shorts, and an oversized straw hat which graced her very well. Naruto watched transfixed as Hinata planted stalk after stalk of rice, so adept in fact, it seemed out of character for an heiress of the Hyuuga clan.

Now that he knew where she was, he slowly walked towards her. Usually traversing such a small distance was nothing to a ninja, but with his recent injuries and current exhaustion, he could barely manage more than a meager shuffle. He watched her as he walked, taking in the beauty of her small actions.

Her gentle hand grabbed a stalk of rice, planted it deliberately into the mud making sure the stalk stayed upright. She took no more than two steps then repeated. Seemingly miniscule an action, to Naruto it reminded him of a peaceful life different from the usual shinobi world of hate and violence. He took it all in, letting the calm wash over his soul, taking the dirt away from the day's events.

Suddenly, she turned his way and looked at his direction. Despite the distance, he knew that she saw and recognized him. As their eyes locked, the current world melted away leaving only a weary traveler and a simple rice farmer together in a universe all their own. At that moment, Naruto knew he would be staying with her as long as possible, mission be damned.

* * *

Chapter Two

He woke gently to the sun beating on his face. True to his character, Naruto turned away lazily cursing himself for not shutting the blinds before going to sleep. As he rolled on his other side, however, his face touched dirt.

'_What the hell?' _Naruto thought sleep ebbing away.

'_Why is there dirt in my room?_'

Suddenly, it hit him like a rush of cold water. Konoha was destroyed, Pein/Nagato defeated, Kyuubi almost taking over his body, Hinata laying the hospital…

"Hinata!" Naruto whispered as he reflexively sat-up. What greeted his face scared him to the other side of the tent, almost knocking it over, straining the pegs that held it to the ground.

"Yo," Kakashi-sensei said through the opening of the flap, allowing copious light to flood into the space.

Naruto stared at his sensei's face, partially hidden by both his ridiculous mask, and the even more absurd book he kept constantly on hand.

This was not the first time Naruto has been rudely awakened by his sensei. More times than he would like, Naruto woke-up to see Kakashi's face curiously staring at him while he slept, hence the reason why he bought curtains for his windows.

'_The pervert even has a slight blush and grin on his face,_' Naruto thought annoyed, '_But at least I'm fully clothed compared to the times when I was in my underwear_.

"Oh, sorry, Naruto," Kakashi said with a slightly apologetic smile, "I have news for you and Sakura."

"What is it, Kakashi-sensei?"

Cryptically he said, "I'll tell you and Sakura together. I'll give you fifteen minutes to get ready, and then meet me outside of camp."

"But…" Kakashi left immediately, leaving Naruto bathed in translucent light, seeping through the tent.

He then noticed the state of his clothes. They were literally tattered and covered with holes. Furthermore, they were stained brown in most places from sleeping in the dirt, as well as from his own dried blood.

_'Did I really see Hinata last night in these clothes?_' Naruto thought embarrassed.

He recalled last night's events. He remembered a girl who he barely noticed laying on a bed, bathed in moonlight. The girl almost died for him yesterday in his fight with Pein because she loved him enough to intervene when he was essentially defeated. He thought about her kind eyes and the feel of her hand, yet, the thing he pondered the most were her words. They were exactly what he needed to hear as if she understood everything in his soul.

Naruto sighed with a smile. '_I guess I'll just have to find her once I'm done with Kakashi-sensei and Sakura-chan.'_

Naruto thought he would have a few days rest before going out to on another mission to find Akatsuki. He had it all planned in his mind, where he would go see Hinata, and then help with the restoration and building of Konoha. He actually looked forward to building something rather than always having to destroy it_._

Unfortunately, the next time he would see Hinata it would only be a dream.

-/-

Twenty-five minutes later, Naruto met with Kakashi and Sakura. Upon arriving, he saw his pink-haired teammate wearing her usual clothing of a red zip-up shirt, roseate skirt over black shorts, as well as matching gloves.

"What the hell took you so long, Naruto?" Sakura said with her usual temper.

"Sak..Sakura-chan, I couldn't find the men's shower close to my tent. I also had to change my clothes…"

"Naruto, you take longer to get ready than a girl. Do you want to grow up to always be late like Kakashi-sensei?"

Despite hearing his name in the banter, Kakashi would usually just let the two friends argue it out, or more accurately, until Sakura punches Naruto to submission.

However, he needed to break the news if they were to act soon.

"Danzo has been elected the next Hokage," Kakashi said simply and firmly.

Danzo is a zealot who always antagonized the Sandaime Hokage's wishes. The leader of Root, a special elite group of ANBU ninjas loyal only to him, he always plotted to someday become Hokage. It makes sense that he finally chose this moment to act.

"What?" Sakura asked. "What about Tsunade-sama?"

"With her in a coma and no way telling when she will wake up, the Fire Country Lords decided to elect a new Hokage. I do not like it either, but we're in a time of crisis and the Fire Country needs Konoha's strength to be rebuilt as a fast as possible."

Naruto and Sakura stood there contemplating what they should, and honestly could, do with a new Hokage, especially since it was Danzo.

"There's more," Kakashi said a little hesitantly while his two subordinates were still lost in thought. "Messengers from Kumo are here with a request from the Raikage."

Naruto and Sakura looked up expecting the worst.

"They want permission to hunt down and kill Sasuke."

The floor fell out for both of Naruto and Sakura. Sakura looked down, hiding her eyes with her bangs. Naruto, not missing her sadness, stepped up to protect her.

Despite already knowing the answer, he asked anyway, "What did Danzo say?"

Sakura interjected, "He said yes, didn't he? He's going to let them kill Sasuke!"

Kakashi just nodded his head.

Sakura, anger rising, clenched her fists. Furious, she turned away getting ready to run towards the "Hokage's" tent.

Just then, a hand grabbed her shoulder.

"What do you think you're going to do once you reach Danzo?" Kakashi said knowing her intent.

"I'm going to ask him to change his mind about Sasuke!" Naruto yelled.

Shocked, Sakura looked to her right to see Naruto in a position like hers. Kakashi-sensei's arm held him back too.

"What do you think you're going to do once he says no?"

"I'll kick his ass until he changes his mind."

"Naruto, think," Kakashi said in his usual calm but disinterested voice, "Danzo is a cold and calculating bastard. He may be old but he survived through the Sandaime's reign. He's trying to bait you into a confrontation."

When realization did not show in Naruto's face Kakashi continued, "You are a threat to him. A lot of villagers are complaining that you were not elected to be the next Hokage. Despite your rising popularity, Danzo can order any ninja to restrain you if you betray him."

He then looked at Sakura, "Plus, Danzo is not here. Since losing two of his Jinchuuriki to Akatsuki, and one his brother, the Raikage has demanded a summit of the five Kages."

The summit of the five Kages is a rare occurrence. It is a meeting between the five great shinobi nations. It is also dangerous because old rivals and enemies are all in one location. It would be a great opportunity to for one Kage to murder his exposed rival, so many rules have been put into place, including meeting on neutral ground. This time, it is being held in the shinobi-free and neutral country of Iron.

"Then what can we do!" Naruto practically yelled.

"I don't know," Kakashi said dejected, "let me talk to Yamato first."

"Fine," said Sakura before jumping away, heading towards the outskirts of Konoha. Despite both of them calling her name, she just kept going. In fact, she did not stop for anything. Construction zones, civilian camps, and pedestrians were just blurred by as if they did not exist.

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said quickly, "I'll get her and then we'll meet up with you and Yamato-taichou." He then followed after his teammate albeit less recklessly.

-/-/-

Two outsiders talked near a tree, waiting for their captain to return from her important mission. A man and a woman, they both had dark skin, swords on their backs, and the symbol for clouds on their hitai-ate.

The male team member, a deep philosopher much to his teammate's annoyance, sat on a stump deep in thought. His favorite thing to do during downtime on missions was to verbally express his logic on whatever subjects were in his thoughts. True to his nature, he had one.

"Hey Karui," the man said, "Have you ever pondered the power of thoughts and attraction?"

'_Oh no,' _the girl thought. '_Omoi is up to it again._'

Karui hated when her teammate went on one of his "Enlightenment Journeys," or as she liked to call it "Bullshit Philosophy."

She still remembers the last mission, in the treacherous mountain range on the border of the Earth Country, to hunt down a missing-nin. The whole time climbing up the mountain Omoi would talk about how true warriors brought chopsticks with them into battle. Hanging precariously off of a cliff, walking gingerly on a ridge where one false step meant death, exploring dark caves in the middle of the night, it did not matter what situation they were in as he always talked about the damned chopsticks. Chopsticks to gouge the eyes out, chopsticks as arm splints, chopsticks for tying up your hair, the list went on and on, ad nauseam.

Finally reaching their destination, near the top of the mountain, she dared to challenge him. "If you're such a fine shinobi," Karui said smugly, "Then where are _your_ godamned chopsticks?"

Much to her chagrin, Omoi actually pulled out a pair of chopsticks, the wooden disposable type, still in its wrapper, and said to his teammate, "Here," with a serious look but a twinkle in his dark eyes. If it were not for the fact that her captain valued his calm and calculating nature, she would have impaled him with his own chopsticks.

His last dying words would probably be,_ "Another use for chopsticks,"_' Karui thought bitterly.

Resigned to her cruel fate, Karui just said, "No…" hoping, but not really believing, that it would dissuade him.

"Well," Omoi said oblivious to his teammate's intensifying annoyance, "Nobody really knows the true power of one's mind. We all know gravity exists, and if gravity exists then everything in the world is connected, and being pulled. What if we were to tap into that powerful force of attraction?"

"Okay, how?" Karui was hardly paying attention, but when he paused in his rant it meant he wanted some kind of response.

"Genjutsu controls the chakra flow in a target person's brain with the end result being an illusion. What if we did a similar jutsu but in a radius around us? I bet that if we mentally mold some chakra while thinking about someone, the emitted chakra waves would have a person be unconsciously drawn to us."

"This is so ridiculous, Omoi! Let's just say that your "chakra waves" is even slightly plausible," '_Which it isn't,' _she thought but then continued, "How do you pull the right person towards us?"

"It's easy. We'll fine tune the chakra waves, changing its frequency so only the right person or people will receive the signal. This is going to be done with our minds. We'll just think of the person we want "attracted" to us," Omoi said with a smile.

Karui did not care anymore. "Okay, fine, whatever, you lead."

"I'm going to think about a girl, a kunoichi in my age range, beautiful, a strong fighter," Omoi paused to look at his teammate. He then remembered her glaring pumpkin color eyes and quick temper.

"Actually, since we're in Konoha, and they're known for their medical ninjitsu, I am going to think about a medical specialist. Oh, and with pretty colored eyes."

"Got it?" Omoi asked. Karui glared at him knowing that he was referencing her.

"Yea," Karui answered.

'_I want a very handsome and strong man. His hair has to be natural and bright, unlike Omoi's which is an ugly, plain, old-man's color of white. His eyes must not be dark, cold, and calculating like Omoi's either.'_

Karui then simplified her list, _'On second thought, any man unlike Omoi. Easy enough_,' she thought.

"Ok, when you're ready just repeat your list of attributes while molding some chakra until the person comes."

"How do you know who is the right person?"

"You'll know. An undeniable signal will be sent out to you."

The two Kumo-nin spent about five minutes repeating their mantra of the person they wanted to attract. After about five minutes of concentration, both of them simultaneously heard the signal. Blood running cold, they left immediately to investigate where it came from.

The undeniable signal echoed throughout the woods: Uchiha Sasuke.

-/-/-/-

For Sakura, it had been too much to bear hearing the news about Sasuke from Kakashi. She could not shake the feeling of hopelessness that was quickly threatening to overtake her. She just needed time to think.

Being smart enough to realize Kakashi's words, it did not stop her from running away. She was sick of breaking down and crying in front of people whenever someone mentioned her lost love, so she thought taking refuge away from people would help her grieve and ultimately re-center herself for action.

Once entering the tree line, she kept going until the cacophony of construction and voices faded to the deceptive calm of the forest.

Sakura stopped at a small clearing, surrounded by huge brown trunks of ancient Konoha trees.

In the middle of the clearing, a small patch of sunlight pierced through the canopy. Sakura walked to the center and sat down, holding her knees while putting her head in-between her legs. She took small solace on the warmth the light gave her.

At this time, she willed herself to cry, knowing nobody was around. Unfortunately, the tears would not come out, and Sakura sat there wallowing in misery.

Suddenly, she was startled by a familiarly comforting hand on her shoulder. As she looked up, she was blinded by the light shining through the canopy. When her eyes adjusted, blond hair ruled her view doing nothing to diminish the two huge blue orbs peering down to her.

Naruto crouched to her side, smiling as he did so.

"Sakura," he said, "It's okay. I understand."

"Naruto..." she trailed off at a loss for words. She couldn't believe how his presence comforted her, lifting her spirits immediately.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked gently.

Sakura shook her head stifling the traitorous tears that threatened to finally come.

Naruto stayed close to her side, patiently waiting for Sakura to open up. He casually glanced around with his eyes admiring the serenity around him.

_This is a beautiful place_,' he thought. '_I would love to take a walk with…_'

"I can't believe he's going to be hunted now." Naruto's wandering mind jolted back to reality.

"Thanks to Danzo, he'll be hunted by both Konoha and Kumo ninjas. Don't they realize how hard we've worked to get him back?"

Sakura looked back at Naruto's face. Relief flooded her being as she realized he was looking at her with compassion and not pity like everybody else.

"I don't know what to do about Sas...Sas." Sakura turned to sob into her arms.

She now realized why she could not cry before: She did not say his name, not even once.

"Sakura," Naruto said, "I will definitely get him back. You know my Nindo is to never go back on my words!" Naruto exclaimed with a big confident smile and a thumbs up. Sakura smiled remembering the so-called "Nice-Guy" pose he gave her so many years before.

"Plus," Naruto spoke much softer now, "You and I both know that I am the only one who wants Sasuke back as much as you do."

Sakura looked at Naruto, amazement in her eyes. This, more than anything else he did, this small-quiet confession, broke Sakura's depression.

A little more light-hearted Sakura said, "Naruto, I can't even say his name without breaking down."

"Who, Sasuke? Why not?" Naruto said probably able to guess the truth.

Sakura flinched a little at hearing his name, "It brings up so many bad memories."

"Well, we'll just have to turn them into good memories," Naruto said with a mischievous smile, "Starting now."

Naruto said quietly, "Sasuke," looking Sakura in her eyes. "Sasuke," he said louder again. "Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke," saying each one with more vigor and strength.

He gestured to Sakura with his hands obviously wanting her to partake in this playful game.

"Naruto, I don't…"

"Come on, Sakura," Naruto said rolling his eyes but with a smile. "It's just us. There's nobody around and we're far from everybody." He whispered close to her ear, "Nobody can hear us. Come on."

"Sasuke," Naruto repeated again.

"Sasuke," Sakura said barely above a whisper.

"Sasuke," Naruto said it again, louder with a wide grin.

"Sasuke," she repeated louder sending chills down her spine.

The two of them repeated his name, each time getting louder. Eventually, it turned into a game where one would try and one-up the other. Naruto then started saying his name goofily, speaking each syllable in a different tone. Sakura followed in suit honestly not remembering the last time she had this much fun.

Getting consumed by the spirit of the game, Naruto, in his childlike need to win, crouched low to the ground, then exploded jumping up and yelling with bestial vigor, "UCH-I-HA SAS-U-KE!"

Both Naruto and Sakura paused, listening to the amazing echo ringing throughout forest. When the woods finally quieted down again, and the name of their long lost friend disappeared, they both collapsed back down on their butt and hands laughing with all their being.

When both of them finally calmed down, stomachs hurting, and blushing red, they looked at each other.

Feeling some sort of obligation, Sakura tentatively said, "Naruto, I…"

"Don't worry about it," Naruto said smiling while standing up, "What are friends for, right?"

Sakura nodded happily in deeper appreciation and gratitude for his friendship.

Naruto held out his hand in a gesture to help her back to her feet. "Come on, let's go," he said. "We'll find a way to stop this once we get back to Kakashi-sensei."

-/-/-/-/-

Suddenly, Naruto ducked as a dangerously fast object passed over his head, rustling the leaves around them.

Missing the first swing, Karui brought her great sword over head, building momentum for a fierce vertical slash.

Naruto quickly pushed Sakura away to the right, while he rolled to the left into the shadows.

Getting up out of a roll, Sakura stood straight up to engage the enemy. Unfortunately, she was not prepared as Karui's third strike almost reached its zenith to Sakura's body.

With blinding speed, Naruto appeared in front of Sakura, breaking the sword's momentum with nothing but his forearm.

"Oh, a tough guy, eh, Blondie?" Karui taunted.

Naruto, unflinching, stared her down, his blue eyes turning icy. "Who are you," he spat.

"I'll tell you if you beat it out of me, Blondie." Karui then retracted her blade, viciously slicing Naruto's arm.

As she arced her sword for another swing, she was surprised to find herself bound.

Naruto, behind her, held both her arms above, out, and to the side of her body.

"Are you ready to tell me now?" He coldly whispered into her ear.

Karui's eyes looked to the front. The blond boy she cut disappeared into a swirl of mist.

Her eyes went large as through the smoke, the pink-haired girl jumped black-gloved hand ready to punch her into oblivion.

Just before Sakura could swing her shoulder, however, another ninja appeared, kicking her in the stomach, sending her flying back to the trees.

Without thinking, Naruto released his hostage to run to Sakura's aide, as her head and back collided with the large tree behind her.

Suddenly, he felt a blade under his chin.

He looked to his right to see two dark-skinned ninjas standing before him. One, the woman who attacked them, wore a white vest over a mostly grey uniform. Her honey colored eyes and fiery raid hair gave Naruto the impression to not get her angry. The second ninja who waited for an opportunity to attack dressed similarly to his counterpart. However, unlike the female this one seemed cold and calculating as could be seen by his dark all-encompassing eyes.

Karui flicked her wrist up, gesturing Naruto to stand up.

"Now you will tell me about Uchiha Sasuke, Blondie."

Instead of complying with her demand, Naruto said, "Who are you and why did you attack us?"

Karui stepped up to Naruto and quickly slapped him in the face. Despite the succinct noise and the sharp pain, he knew that she was holding back. A real slap from her would have probably sent him to the ground.

"Do not test Kumo ninjas, Blondie," she said as she retreated back to slicing distance.

Ignoring the insult, Naruto said, "Konoha and Kumo are at peace. This violation could lead to war."

Karui scoffed, fighting the intense urge to punch him in the face.

Instead she yelled, "Konoha broke the peace first. One of your missing-nin, Uchiha Sasuke attacked us first!"

"What? Why would he do that?" Naruto asked shocked.

"Don't play dumb, it's insulting. As a member of Akatsuki, he brutally attacked and captured him."

Naruto blanched. He remembered how members of Akatsuki terrorized Suna until his friend, the Kazekage, came out to defend his people. Gaara of the sand was defeated, and by the time Naruto and his team came to rescue him, he was already savagely murdered. If it were not for an illegal jutsu known only by one of the Suna elders, which requires the conjurer to sacrifice her life, Gaara would still be dead.

'_Sasuke joined "that" organization,' _Naruto thought, '_the same one that hunts me and people like me, draining them of their power, and then leaving their corpses to rot in the open. Akatsuki killed Ero-Sennin, leveled Konoha, and still haunts me now. Sasuke couldn't have joined them_.' Naruto pleaded with himself.

One of the very rare times in his life, Naruto showed absolute doubt in his eyes. He was speechless.

He was surprised again when his teammate got up and confidently declared, "I don't believe you. Sasuke would never join Akatsuki because all he ever wanted was to get revenge on his brother for killing his entire clan. Now that he got his revenge, he's just…wandering…around." Sakura said the last statement quietly almost to herself.

"Don't be naïve girl! Your precious Sasuke even killed a friend and teammate of ours who was tracking him." Karui venomously spat back to them.

"I don't believe you," was all Sakura could say dejected.

"I have proof," Karui's teammate interjected calmly. "Our reports indicate a teenager with black hair, a long katana sheathed on his waist, and the infamous Uchiha crest on his back. Apparently, he had the Sharingan and used it to create a black fire that defeated Killer Bee-sama, our master. Oh, and he and his team also wore black kimonos littered with red clouds. He took it off before fighting Killer Bee-sama."

'_Black kimonos with red clouds,_' Naruto thought_, _'_Very few shinobi in any of the five great nations should know Akatsuki's uniform since rarely do they live after seeing it._'

Something about the calculated way the male Kumo shinobi explained his report seemed to seal the deal in Naruto's mind. All doubt about Sasuke's recent affiliation evaporated leaving reality in its place.

Naruto looked down and to the left to see Sakura shaking on her knees. The sight of it broke his heart. _'All that hard work building her back up just to be destroyed like it was nothing,_' Naruto thought sadly, _'Is this truly the world of the ninja?'_

Karui, feeling no remorse due to her own pain stuck the dagger home by saying, "Girl, why do you care so much? Was he your boyfriend or something?"

If Sakura was crying before, she was sobbing now.

Naruto, regaining his composure and courage, stepped protectively in front of her.

"That's enough," he proclaimed to them. "I will help you. Just give me a minute," Naruto turned his back to the attackers to try and salvage his friend.

"As if I would let you do that. How do I know you're not whispering instructions to her against us?"

The ensuing look Naruto gave Karui froze her in place. She would later tell Omoi that she saw red slits in his eyes.

Naruto icily told her, "Do what you must," and left the threat thickly hanging in the air.

Always a little reckless, Karui was about to put her sword on Naruto's back to remind him of her presence when Omoi put his hand on her shoulder and shook his head.

Naruto focusing solely on Sakura, bent down in front of her. Gently, he picked her head up looking into her eyes. It made him sad seeing how they looked lifeless and dull, as if the soul behind them was no more.

He stared deeply trying to get some kind of reaction, but her glazed look never changed. He hugged her fiercely saying, "I'm sorry, Sakura-chan."

He then whispered into her ear, "Remember my promise, my Nindo. Don't forget what I said afterwards."

Naruto pulled back trying to see if his words reached her. She just kept her head down, sniffling softly.

Pleading he said, "Sakura, I will take care of things here. Please, go back to Kakashi-sensei." Not getting a response, Naruto shook her slightly saying, "Sakura? Sakura, did you hear me?"

Sakura gave a slight nod. Naruto said, "Ok, go to Kakashi-sensei. I will be there soon."

Naruto helped Sakura up to her feet. She swayed, catching a tree before she fell.

"Ok, now tell me what I want to know," Karui said irritated.

"Not here," Naruto replied looking back towards his friend.

Omoi catching on that he did not want to discuss anything with the girl around, said, "Okay, follow us back to our camp then."

Naruto nodded and then all three left. As he departed, Naruto looked back one more time. He saw Sakura leave the deceptive serenity of the meadow, and listlessly walk into the shadow of the trees.

-/-/-/-/-/-

The two Kumo and one Konoha ninja sprinted for about five minutes away from the meadow. They arrived at a large clearing which used to be an old logger camp.

Walking, without so much as a peep, they turned the corner, behind the main building, where Naruto saw supplies and remnants of a camp fire.

Thinking he would be able to sit down and calmly talk to them at their camp, Naruto almost walked into Karui not expecting her to suddenly stop.

Abruptly, she turned around.

"Tell us about Sasuke, now!" Karui exclaimed very irritated.

Surprised, Naruto unconsciously jumped back, almost hitting his head against the wall. He then looked away, "I'm sorry but I can't."

Karui's response was immediate and disturbingly swift. She slammed Naruto back onto the side of the wall.

"You tricked us!" Karui yelled in his face.

"No, I said I would help you. Your master, Killer Bee-san, is a Jinchuuriki?"

Both Karui and Omoi lost the color in the faces.

"How could you possibly know that?" Omoi asked incredulous.

"Akatsuki targets and kidnaps Jinchuuriki. They have been after me for years because I have the Kyuubi sealed inside me."

Both Kumo ninjas instantly froze. Karui's jaw almost dropped to the floor and her eyes widened considerably. On the other hand, Omoi narrowed his eyes a little as if confirming some theory of his. Both were temporarily lost in their thoughts.

Karui, remembering her sensei's strength could not believe this kid could have the Kyuubi sealed in him. A master of the Hachibi, second in raw power only to the Demon-Fox, it took Sasuke and his entire team to capture Killer Bee-sama.

Omoi and she should not have been able to touch Naruto, much less slap him around.

Breaking the silence, Naruto spoke, "Please, let me help you rescue him. I don't know him but I swear on my life to get him back!"

Throwing logic to the wind, Karui let her anger guide her. She shoved him back against the shed, and then placed her forearm to his throat. "We don't need your help!"

'_He's not so strong_,' she thought quickly, '_This brat's either a liar or a fluke Jinchuuriki_.'

She then continued yelling in his face, "Kumo does not need Konoha ninjas to help rescue their own comrades. What we need is information on Sasuke, a missing-nin according to your Hokage, whom Konoha should have dealt with long before he attacked us. Help us exact justice!"

"Justice?" Naruto spoke with difficulty.

Karui removed the pressure from his throat.

Voice, hoarse, Naruto said, "Is it justice to kill someone? If you kill my friend, I will kill you. Then somebody will hunt me down, and vice versa! How can justice be achieved when the cycle of hate and violence continues?"

"Shut up!" _'Just like Omoi, damnit.'_ "I don't want to hear your philosophical bullshit! Plus," she added more calmly, "Do _you_ know what it's like to lose your master, or even a friend?

Naruto visibly shook. Memories of his mentor and sensei Jiraiya flooded his mind. He then remembered the unyielding anger he felt towards his slayer Nagato once he met finally saw him in person. It literally took all his will to not savagely tear him apart.

Calming down, Naruto put himself in the girl's shoes. What would he do differently if he knew that a friend of the enemy would not cooperate with his wishes? Would he not do the same if a friend of his was captured; beat him until the vital answers bled out?

'_What if it was Hinata_?' The last thought just slipped past his subconscious sending a mild but poignant shock to his system.

Karui noticed as her hostage seemed to lose all fight in his body, instead replacing it with sadness.

"I cannot betray my friend," he said. "I'm sorry that he captured your master and killed your friend, but I cannot help you kill Sasuke."

Seething, Karui said, "You lied to us then. You said you would help…"

"No, err, I mean yes," Naruto said with some confidence.

"I do not go back on my words. If you're so intent on exacting revenge then take it out on me. Hit me, kick me, pulverize me because that's the best…"

A quick punch to Naruto's face sent him flying back against the wall.

"Are you sure that's what you want, Blondie?"

This was followed by a blinding right hook which sent the left side of his face, as well as his body, scraping against the splintering wood, to the left. Before he could fall over, Karui grabbed his left shoulder, stopping his momentum.

She then retracted her foot and kicked him squarely in his groin. As he doubled-over in pain, her right knee hit him under his chin, the force of it, making the top of his head ricochet against the wall behind him, snapping some of the old wood.

As his head fell back down, Karui elbowed his temple sending him sprawling to the floor.

She then mercilessly flipped Naruto onto his back, crouched above him, and spat in his face. "I see you're still conscious, Blondie. You must like it rough. Are you sure you don't want to just give me the information I want?"

Naruto's response was just a stoic stare into her wild-hornet eyes.

She then bent lower, next to his ear, and whispered, "Don't worry. I'll do my best to enjoy it more than you."

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Karui unleashed a ferocity she held back for a long time. She fueled herself with the memories of losing the ones close to her.

'_Killer Bee-sama, the one who taught me the way of the sword with his own special fighting style, used to always grin happily to me. One day he was training like usual, and for no apparent reason, he was cunningly attacked and captured. My master almost burned to death while Sasuke watched._'

She double-backhanded Naruto hearing a loud "crack" in his neck.

_'A body lying on the beach. He had a hole in his heart where the rats drank from his blood. He was literally covered in shit because crows and pigeons flocked around his body, feasting on what the rats ignored_. _Sasuke didn't even bother to bury my friend or even throw his body into the sea.'_

Karui sent a volley of punches to Naruto's chest ignoring the blood landing on her face.

She then thought of something else, although not a memory of a lost friend, it infuriated her nonetheless.

_Gravitational Attraction; Chopsticks; Rats as nutritious supplements in the field; Rubber bands as torture devices; Bunny clones; Infiltrating a village disguised as whores (Omoi included); Advantages of big breasts for the overall happiness of the human race; Omoi's stupid philosophical bullshit._

She kicked Naruto between his legs but sent a killing intent to her partner behind her.

She punched Naruto him a few times while on top of him. Then she got up and kicked him anywhere she could, not really caring where the blows landed. Karui kicked him so much that she twisted her ankle, landing her right knee on his quivering stomach. Hardly missing a beat, she retracted getting ready to launch another volley of punches.

Then she paused, looking at his face.

Through the gore stared a single intense blue eye. She looked at it, curiously, wondering why it made her hesitate.

She punched it tentatively hoping it would close. It stayed open. She punched it again, but with the same result.

Tired and exhausted with a twisted ankle and trembling hands, she took the time to gaze into the blue orb.

Despite the blood occasionally running into it, the eye stayed open. Not just that, but it was alert and conscious never looking away as if it had a grip on her soul.

She did not know how long she stayed there, sitting on top of his chest, trying to decipher the mystery behind the blue orb.

Then it dawned on her, '_He's not angry with me. He's pitying me._'

She raised her arm unconsciously readying herself to strike at him again. She was surprised, albeit mildly, when someone gently grabbed her wrist.

Karui looked behind to her interceptor, and Omoi just shook his head again.

She kept her swollen and aching hands to her side, trying to catch her breadth, sweat falling on her victim's open wounds, burning him slightly.

She could not stop staring into his eye.

'_I don't like this. It's like punching an innocent child_…_or a hopeless idiot_,' Karui thought bitterly.

"What are you doing!" Karui heard the voice of someone she was not expecting this early, her captain.

Naruto stared into his assailant's eyes. He stopped feeling the blows a long time ago, and used all his willpower to keep his one eye open.

Suddenly, he noticed the girl's face change from curiosity to fear, as she scrambled backwards off of him.

The last thing Naruto remembered, before blacking out, was a beautifully stoic face looking down on him.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Naruto awoke in darkness. The first thing he noticed was that he could not hear anything. Not just external noises, but internal ones too. He could not hear his heartbeat, a nervous stomach, or even his own thoughts.

Naruto had no inner monolog whatsoever. He dumbly looked around, seeing only the color black, and feeling hopelessly lost.

Suddenly, Naruto heard salvation. It was in the form of giggle, sweet and innocent, it rang into his soul comforting him.

Not seeing but knowing, he knew that the source of his deliverance was close to him.

Curious, he crawled, following the angelic laughter.

By the time he actually saw his lifeline, he was practically on top of her. It was a baby. The child had aquamarine eyes flowing like a lagoon. On her bald head, an oversized pink bow lay like a crown on a princess.

The most striking feature, however, was her heart, in that it lay on top of her chest. Like a heart-shaped balloon from a festival, it dwarfed her chest cavity.

Inside the heart a golden ball of light existed. Transfixed by its warmth, Naruto became immensely happy when it started sending rays of light outwards into the darkness. He could not help but feel intense love for this beautiful creature.

As if disturbed by the light, the shadows around Naruto moved. Suddenly, he was surrounded by ethereal entities.

He could only see them whenever the child's light pulsed. What he did see scared him; black cloaks and silver hammers. That was it.

They boxed-in Naruto and the girl, forming a circle of silver and shadows.

Triggered by a cue of darkness, the specters attacked in-between a light interval.

Acting on pure instinct, Naruto covered the child with his body, using himself as a shield. The first waves of hammers landed everywhere, almost overwhelming his sense of pain.

He shut it out focusing instead on the baby's giggles which came more frequently the longer he was around the girl.

The entities did not stop. They did not care about Naruto because their target was the source of light.

Switching tactics, they tried to find the weak spots in the human-shield. He did his best to anticipate the incoming blows and move his body to cover, while being careful not to crush the baby with his weight.

Abruptly, while Naruto was shifting his weight, two hammers hooked upwards sending his body flying up and away from the child.

Barely recuperating, Naruto instinctively jumped back towards the baby. The last thing he saw, in the light-interval, were all the hammers raised in a high arc.

Thud! Naruto was relieved to feel all the crushing blows on him.

However, something was terribly wrong. He could not hear anymore.

Already knowing but needing to look anyway, he was still nonetheless shocked at what he saw. Embedded in the baby's heart was a silver blade.

Quickly trailing it with his teary eyes, all he could figure out was that it came from somewhere beyond her head in the darkness.

The light, if it could still be called that, traveled up the sword towards the source of the attacker.

When it passed over her face, Naruto could not help but feel immense guilt as her eyes were frozen staring up at him stating, "Why couldn't you protect me?"

The light kept moving a few meters until it reached the hilt. Then it traveled up a pale arm and finally to a face.

"Sasuke?" Naruto silently mouthed. The light entered Sasuke's mouth illuminating the wicked grin. When he swallowed the light, Naruto could not help but stare at the only visible thing left in his void: a pair of bloody Sharingan.

The darkness even enveloped Naruto's screams of anguish.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Sensation! The reawakening of his senses flooded into his being. Immediately, he listened to his surroundings relishing in the subtle nuances people usually tuned out. He could hear rustling by his arm, metals squeaking, and even the shuffling of shoes.

Furthermore, Naruto felt his heart beating in his chest and could think. '_I can think again!_' It was as if someone returned his soul back into his body.

When he opened his eyes, the painful light blinded his vision. Despite the instincts to close them, he kept them open not bothered by the painful readjustment of his irises.

He was surprised that even when all the blindingly bright spots disappeared from his view, he could only see one thing: White.

'_Everything is so white!_' He looked down to his toes and also noticed that he was wearing a simple fitted gown. Other than the color is his skin, everything else seemed nonexistent. In fact, if he could not feel the bed under him, he would swear that he was laying on nothing.

A gentle touch broke him from his reverie. He saw a girl, with pale-lavender eyes, holding his arm.

"Hinata!" Naruto said in surprise and amazement, ignoring the fact that her usual blue hair was instead jet-black. She wore a long blood-red dress, and had her hands holding Naruto's bicep.

Suddenly, before he could appreciate the vibrant red versus the ivory of the room, painful sharp needles shot through his arm. He yelped out pain, fighting the thoughts of treachery from his friend.

When she was done, Naruto turned his head to see a menacing black mark where her hands used to be.

"Hinata, why?" Naruto asked confused. Her answer was another stab of pain, but this time on his lower arm.

"Oi, Hinata," he desperately called out to her. Despite his calls and obvious discomfort, she never looked at his face, instead only to the area where she was going to hurt him.

Naruto wanted to move away to escape the pain she was giving him. Regardless of his affection for her, he let survival instincts take over and squirmed to escape.

Before he could initiate his plan, he felt something soft on his bicep.

Another milky-white hand caressed the skin with the black mark. After a few moments pause, she removed her hand, to reveal that the black mark was gone, leaving only a warm and relaxing sensation in its stead.

He looked into her eyes, and was surprised to see the similar pale orbs with the lavender tint, the same as the girl who was causing him pain.

"Hinata?" Naruto asked. This girl looked at Naruto's face, smiling while caressing his sores. He noticed that this Hinata had shining white hair and was wearing a sterling silver dress.

Oblivious to the fact that he was dreaming, Naruto just lay back giving in to the sensations.

He noticed that the "evil" Hinata moved deliberately from sight to sight on his body, as if she were following a map in her mind. He also could not detect any malice or hatred in her actions, so Naruto could not fathom why she was hurting him.

He did not pay her too much attention, however, because "good" Hinata always made up for the other's actions.

While the other girl would often move quickly from one spot to the next, this one stayed and lingered, making sure the entire mark was gone. Also, Naruto loved how she always looked at his face, smiling as she worked.

This pattern of hurt and heal continued counter-clockwise around his body, traveling up his legs, to reach its conclusion, ending at his face.

When, the red Hinata put her hands on each of his inner thighs, Naruto actually blushed despite knowing the blinding pain that was going to course to the area.

Ashamed to admit it, he was sad when the silver Hinata did not take away the pain there too.

The red-dressed girl looked into Naruto's eyes once she reached his face. Surprising Naruto, she kissed him on the forehead before whispering, "I'm sorry."

Still in shock from the only form of affection he received from this one, he did not prepare himself when pain circulated into his head, traveling into his brain and making him foggy.

Needless to say, Naruto was glad when that girl left.

Dutifully following suit, the remaining girl took away the pain on his face. He had to control his breathing as she spent many minutes touching his neck, eyes, forehead, and lips each with tender affection.

Naruto never took his eyes off Hinata, and getting lost in her affection, he completely forgot about the other girl who did nothing but cause him pain.

As she was about to leave, Naruto grabbed her hand, relishing in its softness.

Surprised, she looked back to see Naruto mouthing, "Please."

Smiling in playful contempt, Hinata took out a fan and held it in front of her face, partially hiding it, making her beauty more alluring. Naruto smiled, closed his eyes, and lost consciousness as he concentrated on the softness and warmth of her hand.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

For the second time today, Naruto woke up to see his sensei looking at him.

'_What the hell?_'

"Again, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, not having enough energy to throw a proper fit.

"Well you see…"

Naruto tried to sit-up, but as he did, he noticed his left hand holding something.

Following his arm, Naruto saw it locked to another one attached to Kakashi! Not just that, but the fingers were interlaced with his, giving the impression that they were an intimate couple.

Adrenaline coursing through him at lightning speeds, Naruto jumped back, tearing his hand away from his sensei, and then hitting his head against the headboard.

He hardly felt it though as he yelled, "Why the hell are you holding my hand!"

Not ruffled by the commotion, Kakashi answered in his bored tone, "But Naruto-kun, you grabbed my hand."

"If that's the case, why didn't you let go!"

"I tried, Naruto," Kakashi answered truthfully, "But every time I did you started grumbling and became restless. It was just easier to hold your hand until you awoke."

Realization hit him like a ton of bricks. "Then that must mean you were the nice Hinata." As soon as that phrase left his lips, Naruto immediately regretted it, embarrassed with his lack of thought.

"The nice Hinata?" '_As in there was more than one_?'

Not wanting to miss a golden opportunity to tease his student, Kakashi asked with rising inflection, "Why Naruto, have you also been reading Jiraiya-sama's novels?"

Naruto turned beet-red. Full of shame, his only response was to turn his head, willing the embarrassing moment to pass. Kakashi chuckled lightly at his expense.

Calming down, Naruto swung his legs over the side of the bed, wincing at its stiffness and pain.

He thought to himself, "_if Kakashi-sensei was the silver Hinata, then the red one was…_'

Sakura walked into the room saying, "Kakashi-sensei, Naruto should not be waking up for at least another few hours. You can get let go of…" Sakura saw him sitting on the bed.

Despite her utter amazement, Sakura just told him, "Oh, you're awake. How are you feeling?"

Naruto, shocked, just stared at her. Her hair was disheveled and her clothes a wrinkled mess, as if she never bothered to straighten them throughout the day. He noticed deep-dark rings around her eyes and it looked like she aged some since he last saw her.

He did a tentative smile, feeling a little sheepish, at waking earlier than her expectations.

"How long was I out?" He asked curious.

"Only about four hours," she replied. "It's a testament to your quick healing ability because a normal person would not have woken up until tomorrow evening, and even after factoring in your ability I thought it would take six hours for you to regain consciousness."

"What happened?"

"That's what I want to know," she answered icily.

"Sakura-chan, I…"

She bent down to his ear and whispered, "Don't you ever do anything like that again. Do you hear me?"

Naruto looked at her amazed that she did not hit him yet. In truth, Sakura wanted to but restrained herself due to his injuries, and also to her guilt.

She then stood up and flashed her best "everything is okay" smile.

"Naruto, your injuries were numerous but not too severe. And when I say not too severe, I mean just for you. If anyone else took the kind of beating you received, they probably would have succumbed to internal hemorrhaging. Luckily, their team leader Samui-san stopped the beating and instantly rushed you back to us.

"Since our tent is closer than the hospital, and the fact that Samui-san knew I was on your team, she brought you here first. Fortunately for you, I came back here to discuss a way to rescue…Sas…uke…" She berated herself for her weakness.

Quickly recovering she wiped her eyes before continuing, "Um, let's see. Oh yes, you suffered from multiple stress-fractures and "minor" internal hemorrhaging. The list of organs includes the kidney…"

Naruto instantly stopped paying attention because he had other things on his mind, although the fact that he would not understand all the medical terms helped to tune Sakura's voice out too.

He thought about the events that transpired today between Sakura and him. A pang of guilt came over him as he remembered his promise to her, and the fact that he still has yet to keep it. Naruto hated how much pain she was in, and would have honestly done anything to keep his friend happy and smiling.

"Hey, Naruto, are you paying attention!" Naruto did his best to hide the lie in his face.

"Well since I know you weren't I will point out the bones in your body that were broken, and I had to mend. Femur, clavicle, scapula…"

Sakura pointed out all the injured bones in his body.

As she listed off the bones in his lower back, she bent down and whispered, "Don't worry about your promise. I'll take care of "it." Don't bother yourself about him anymore."

When she finished pointing out the bones, she said cryptically, "I'm telling you about your bones because despite the splints, bandages, and my healing techniques you are still going to need to be careful on your mission. So take it easy, okay Naruto?"

Before he could respond, Sakura gave him a succinct but tender hug, and then all but fled from the room.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Naruto left the tent determined to fulfill his missions.

When Sakura left the tent, Kakashi filled him in on their operation.

Since confronting Danzo would be fruitless and most probably damaging, their next option would be to confront the source of the problem itself. They were going to intercept the Raikage and ask him to withdraw his order to kill Sasuke.

He explained to Naruto that it had been originally Sakura's idea even though she was not going on the mission herself.

Kakashi already sent out his ninja dog Pakkun to track Kumo's leader. Since the Raikage was probably not in a rush to the Five Kage Summit, he calculated that they could intercept him just within the borders of the Iron Country.

However, in order to do this he surmised that they should probably leave Konoha within an hour to be safe but definitely within two hours to still be able to do their mission.

Agreeing, Naruto all but ran out the door despite Sakura's warnings, telling his sensei that he would meet them at the North gate within two hours.

He had less than two hours before he had to leave. It was cutting it close but he would definitely make it work.

Naruto was going to go find the girl of his dream.

'_The real one this time_,' Naruto shuddered as he suddenly felt awfully violated.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Hinata enjoyed working in the rice field. She loved the wet soil under her bare feet, the warmth of the sun on her head, and the simplicity of her actions.

That morning, she asked the doctor to discharge her because she felt much better. Other than some soreness in her muscles and a minor ache in her side, she did not believe that she needed to take up any of the limited space in the hospital. Originally, the doctor refused stating that he would like to monitor her for at least another day, but after pointing out to him that there are people in far worse condition than her, he acquiesced.

Leaving her room, she saw Ko dutifully waiting for her. He told Hinata that her father and sister left, for the day, to attend an important meeting with the council. Ko also informed her that he was to not leave her side, and even though he would not admit it, it was probably her father's punishment for him.

Realizing she currently had no home to go to, and not wanting to get in the way by being a main family member, she wandered the remains of Konoha trying to find a place where she can help rebuild her village. Ko, hardly speaking, followed his charge around dutifully.

She avoided construction areas because she did not have the technical knowledge of buildings, as well as places where people would ask her many questions. She just wanted to work.

When all hope seemed lost, a young girl tugged on her jacket. "Neechan!" The girl yelled, smiling from ear-to-ear, with a huge toothy grin.

"Hello," Hinata said crouching down. "What's your name?"

The girl, full of abundant energy, jumped up and down constantly, running around Hinata, saying, "Neechan! Neechan!"

Hinata smiled appreciating the life the girl had. She also noticed the strange clothing she wore. On top of her head was a straw hat, and on her body a weaved shirt without sleeves

"Amaya! Come here right now!"

The little girl ran to her mom, energy more contained, from years of training.

Hinata saw that this lady also wore a straw hat and a simple weave shirt. She also had on khaki shorts which ended slightly above her knee, and carried a heavy camping backpack.

"Greetings, Hyuuga-san," she said to Hinata, "I see my daughter takes a liking to you."

"She's so full of energy and happiness. It's refreshing." Hinata said remembering her sister Hanabi who was like her before her father took her as his apprentice.

"What's going on here?"

"We're trying to recruit volunteers to work in the rice fields. Not knowing how the destruction will affect trade, the council has decided to prepare by reactivating the old fields."

The job sounded perfect. "Can, I, um, join too?" Hinata asked shyly.

All of a sudden, Ko came up to the two and said, "Are you sure about that, Hinata-sama?"

Not missing the reverent way the man addressed the girl, the woman worried about her being a liability.

"Well, Hyuuga-san, you should probably know that we have not been able to garner many volunteers. It's backbreaking work in the sun, the entire day. Also, there are snakes and leeches in the water."

Hinata's body has been honed from years of shinobi training. Also, her Byakugan could spot any danger lurking in any of the fields.

She nodded and said, "Yes I would still like to volunteer, if you'd have me."

The woman, not missing the fact that she was a pretty girl, tried to appeal to her vanity, "You would not be able to talk to anyone because we'd all be spread out each covering our own section. And there probably wouldn't be many boys around your age."

When the woman noticed that Hinata did not so much as flinch or look away, in fact she looked even more eager, she resigned to give her a chance.

"Tell you what, Hyuuga-san, if you can carry one of the children's packs up the trail, without complaining, then I will give you a shot. Oh, and I'll lend you some clothes too because you'd die from heat-exhaustion in that heavy attire of yours."

Hinata, jumping for joy on the inside, smiled as she joined the crowd of farmers.

"Oh, and Bodyguard-san," she said as an afterthought, "You look strong so you can carry one of the equipment packs. You'll be helping to restore one of the mills."

Ko did not say anything but silently sigh as resigned himself to his duty.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

The group of farmers left Konoha-proper in the mid-morning. Outside the North gate, the trail turned into a beaten path, covered with leaves.

As they hiked through the woods, up and down gentle slopes, and ultimately into a mountain pass, the lady (who Hinata was told to call her simply as "Boss") could not help but be surprised at how well the Hyuuga girl was doing. Whereas, all the other volunteers complained, lagged behind, or all too often deserted, she stayed at the head of the group next to Boss.

Also, she genuinely seemed to be enjoying herself. She smiled at the scenery, acting as if she was going on a camping trip instead of working a day in the fields.

True to her word, Boss let Hinata borrow some of her clothes. Trading in her heavy and bulky sweat attire, she wore some very light and breathable clothing instead. Typically coming down past the lady's knee, because of Hinata's height, it came up an inch or two above the knee instead. She wore a sleeveless tan-shirt, originally baggy, Boss tied a knot in the back to make sure it wouldn't expose her to unscrupulous eyes. It also showed off her figure while slightly exposing her stomach. Last, the lady plopped an old straw hat on her head to give her some shade in the sun.

Originally perspiring, Hinata instantly became cold as her sweat cooled on her skin. Hinata was surprised. She grew up always wearing oversized clothes, a byproduct of her low self-confidence. She constantly wore her jacket even on the hottest of days, unconsciously relishing in its protection. She has never been this exposed before and it worried her.

Sensing her discomfort, Boss told her, "Don't worry. You'll feel much better when you're breaking your back out in the sun."

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

She was right. Hinata actually loved her time out there learning how to plant rice. At first it seemed easy. Amaya, with focused energy, planted each stalk like a little machine.

On the other hand, Boss' movements were calculated from years of farming. She never wasted a single movement: pick, plant, step, pick, plant, step.

Mimicking her actions, Hinata quickly learned how difficult this really was. From her supply, she sometimes grabbed more than one stalk and ended up wasting time by sorting them out. Then, she would bend over, create a small hole with her hand, and then plant the stalk in the mud. Unfortunately, almost every one was planted crookedly, and some even floated away. Hinata then wasted time chasing after these stalks and as well as re-finding the row she was originally working on.

Fortunately, Boss was a very patient teacher. She planted a row parallel to Hinata's so she can offer her advice whenever she needed it, which as often. Amaya too took a liking to her "Neechan," so she would also give tips in a sing-song manner typically while jumping around Hinata.

Eventually, she caught on. Using chakra control similar to her family's Jyuuken style, she learned to precisely grab one stalk each time. Next, she simultaneously punched the mud and planted the stalk, followed by a graceful hand motion which sealed the stalk in the earth. Always mindful of her foot stance, it did not take her long to keep a calculated step.

Boss was amazed to say the least. Nobody ever caught on that quickly. By the end of the first crooked-planted rice, Hinata was sweating profusely; extremely happy in the clothes she borrowed.

By the end of the second row, Hinata's breathing and movements were strictly monitored and regulated, just like how her father taught her.

When the third row was finished, both Boss and her daughter stopped paying attention to her.

Hinata actually started enjoying herself. The water was surprisingly warm, and the she loved the feel of the mud as it tried to swallow her feet. The area was quiet too and nobody bothered her.

The demanding labor also had a soothing effect on her mind. All her troubles about her family washed away with the stream. She threw herself in the task using her complete concentration. The little times she did let her mind wander, however, she thought about a special blond ninja.

Every once in awhile, Hinata used her Byakugan to scan for perils such as snakes, leeches, or glass. Without moving her head, she also spied less critical but more annoying dangers. The more discreet farmers ogled her whenever they thought she was not looking. The obvious ones just stopped working and soaked in the eye candy.

The latter, and sometimes even the former, were usually swiftly met with a harsh and embarrassing berating by Boss. She would yell at them, saying their names and what they were doing, and on the punishment of _the_ painful emasculation, tell them to get back to work.

Usually, Hinata would be completely embarrassed by all the attention, probably to the point of paralysis. But she too let those thoughts wash away as she went back to concentrating on her work. Sometimes, though, she wondered what Naruto would think if he saw her here.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

In the late afternoon, after finishing her section and working on Amaya's, Hinata noticed a commotion amongst the farmers, subtle like the ripples emanating from a planted stalk, as they stopped working.

They all stared in the same direction towards a single point in the South. She gasped as she realized who everyone was gawking at. Even from this distance, Hinata could make out his orange and black jumpsuit, and especially his infamous sun-blond hair.

Caught in the moment, she just looked at him smiling, staring at his face, his blue eye.

'_One blue eye,'_ she thought to herself fighting a panic. She activated her Byakugan and confirmed that he indeed had only one eye open. She then noticed a large square bandage on his other eye, as well as long ribbons of white bandages rapped around his face.

Extremely worried, she broke her trance, and quickly traversed the rice field fighting against the suction of the mud. Hinata did not hear the whispers of "Uzumaki Naruto and Hero of Konoha" around her. Completely engrossed in her goal, she did not even hear Boss call out to her.

Hinata walked as fast as possible to the edge of the field, and then noticing that her sandals were farther North at her section of the paddy, she just ran barefoot on the dirt road, towards Naruto not caring about the hazards that littered it.

As she ran, the farmers all followed her motions, watching her navy colored hair trailing in the wind. Some stared in awe and some watched the girl's target as the boy kept grinning while Hinata approached.

Even Boss, a disciplined farmer, could not help but stare in amazement at the two unlikely couple on the road.

'_No wonder she was not interested in other boys_.'

When reaching Naruto, her first words to him were, "What happened?"

Surprised, he put on his mischievous smile and said, "I got beat up by Kumo ninjas."

She hesitated slightly, looking down at her feet. Hinata was not expecting him to say that. She thought about his bandages and his wrapped eye.

Fury in her eyes, she looked up and said, "Where?" and started to march off in the direction he came from.

Naruto, surprised by her sudden anger, could not help but lightly chuckle as this kunoichi was going to avenge him in nothing but a straw hat, shorts, and without shoes of all things.

He grabbed her hand, pulled her back gently, and said, "Don't worry about them. I came here to see you."

Quickly losing her resolve, Hinata turned away bashfully.

"Come on," he said, "I have something for you. Do you have some time?"

Completely engrossed by the feeling of his hand around hers, she just nodded.

"Let's go then," Naruto said with a little urgency in his voice. He led her away, pulling her like he used to do as kids while she trailed behind.

The unlikely couple traversed the dirt road in search of a quiet respite.

Boss watched shocked as the pair walked. During her time with Hyuuga-san, she never saw her this unconfident or unsure of herself. Hinata's head was down and her free hand glued to her lips. The blond boy nonchalantly held her hand, oblivious to the quiet girl behind him.

'_But then again, I'd probably act the same way if that blond hunk was my boyfriend,_' she laughed, wishing she was still young again.

However, time and duty called to her again. Breaking out of her fantasy, she noticed others staring just like her. With threats of dual decapitation, she made sure everyone returned to work.

'_Let the couple have some peace_,' she thought smiling.

Hinata's senses were overwhelmed. She knew that she should probably walk side by side with him, but she had trouble focusing on anything other than the texture of his hand; warm, very warm, with a subtle roughness to it like wet sand.

Unfortunately, since her senses were occupied, she failed to notice a hazard in the road. Hinata's right foot scraped over a particularly jagged and sharp rock; a remnant of a time when the valley was nothing more than a mass of rocks between mountains.

"Ahhh," she winced quickly realizing the pain.

Naruto turned around and looked down.

Blood was already oozing from the bottom of her right foot.

"Hinata!" he said.

Taking a page out of Naruto's book, she feigned a smile telling him not to worry and that she was alright. However, one look at the pool of steadily growing blood, under her foot, and it was easy to see her lie.

Not replying, he immediately went to into action. As he inspected her foot, he did his best to push away the horrible memories of her blood.

Quickly, the two hobbled over to the stream, between the road and the rice field. Naruto, on Hinata's right, supported her weight shoulder to shoulder. They tried to hobble over to the stream by having Hinata do a kind of hop with her left foot, but this process was excruciatingly slow, not to mention dangerous, and as more blood was pumped to the foot, it started gushing out.

Seeing her predicament and pain, Naruto's adrenaline charged body scooped her up and quickly walked her to the stream. He gingerly placed her on the barrier stones, and put her foot into the water to clean it off. After rinsing off the dirt and the grime, Naruto was horrified to see that the water actually made the blood run more freely from the wound.

"Do you have any bandages," Naruto asked her quickly.

Hinata, dazed by the cut and the flurry of recent physical contact, snapped out of it as she realized he asked her a question.

Softly, she said, "I have a first aid-kit in my pack, on the bench, behind me in the distance."

Naruto again picked her up bridal-style but held her right ankle this time to control the jerking movements while he carried her.

He half ran half hobbled North where Hinata indicated. A little worried by her lack of precise directions, he was relieved to see that the bench was the only one he could see on the road.

The bench was nestled in the shade of an ancient Maple tree. An old two and a half person seater, it was built roughly around the same time as the rice fields. The faded green bench still stands, albeit barely, due to partial protection of the tree behind it. Many farmers have noticed the beauty in the contrast of the colors, neutral brown tree trunk, faded green bench, and the vibrant red of the leaves as its branches swooped down, as if protecting the visitors under it.

Naruto was about to lay Hinata on the bench when she quickly told him that the wood on the left half of it was weak and ready to break. Examining it, he noticed that the left-side wood was much darker than its counterpart.

Instead, Naruto gently half-draped half-sat Hinata on the right side of the bench, crouched in front of her, and began rummaging through her pack.

Finding the gauze, he hurriedly applied firm pressure to her foot, sandwiching it between his hands.

Hinata mentally berated herself for her carelessness. Although she relished in the attention Naruto was giving her, she should not have let herself become distracted.

However, all the innocent touching overwhelmed her senses, and it took all her will power to not have a constant blush on her face.

Unfortunately, while Naruto was putting pressure on her foot, she made the mistake of looking Naruto in his eye. Automatically, she felt the old familiar habit to faint creep up her spine. To counter that, she quickly grabbed her straw hat and thrust out it in front of her face, the friction of which brought some of her hair with her.

"Um, Hinata?" Naruto said, "Is everything okay?"

Hinata quickly nodded a few times oblivious to the fact that Naruto could not see beyond her hat.

"Hinata?"

"Um, Nar…Naruto-kun, sssoor…sorry, I'm a little tired," she said doing her best not to stammer.

"If you don't mmm…mind I'm just going to close my eyes."

Confused, Naruto just acknowledged her quirkiness. He then continued his task, albeit bored due to having nobody to talk to.

As he waited for the blood to coagulate, Naruto's gaze shifted from her foot. On the floor around him, he saw leaves in various shades of red. Curious, he then looked up to admire the fuchsia leaves on the branches, outlined in gold, due to the sun above its canopy.

Automatically, his gaze followed a big vermillion Maple leaf as it glided lazily in the breeze, dancing between sunrays. It swayed back and forth in the air, and in a matter of seconds, it landed gently on Hinata's stomach.

For unknown reasons Naruto would ponder later, he had this intense urge to remove the leaf, as if its presence ruined the balance of a fine painting or sculpture.

Waiting, he became annoyed when Hinata did not bother to expel the intruder herself.

Naruto then wanted to call her name but then thought that she probably fell asleep.

Quixotically, he took it upon himself to remove the annoying red leaf. Without the use of his hands, Naruto thought of a "genius" idea.

He blew on the leaf, lightly at first, but gradually increasing in force as the surprisingly heavy foliole did not want to budge.

When the leaf finally fell to Naruto's "Fuuton Ninjutsu," he saw a remarkable blemish where it used to be. On her abdomen, he saw a scar the size of a thin branch and the shape of a toddler's kiss. The skin was slightly raised and it was a tint lighter than the rest of her complexion. Behind the scar, a menacing bruise existed to remind anyone what used to be there.

As he bent forward to inspect it, realization landed on him like a boulder, '_This is where Pein_ _stabbed her_.'

Fascinated and horrified at the same time, he could not tear his eye away from the scar. He stared at it, wondering if it still hurt her. He bent his head lower, trying to comprehend the reminding sacrifice of her actions cruelly tattooed on her body. As he stared, he could not help but smell the scent of pressed flowers.

Naruto did not realize his face was a few mere centimeters above Hinata's body.

"Naruto-kun…" whispered a soft but questioning voice.

Instantly breaking his reverie, Naruto jumped back making an emasculating sound – something akin to a scream and a yell - and could not help but turn red with embarrassment. Straw hat now off and hair tousled around her face, he saw Hinata's faint lavender orbs staring right at him.

"Ah, Hinata, it's not what you think," Naruto quickly blurted out trying to redeem himself, "There was this big leaf on you, and then I removed it, but then I saw a scar on your stomach."

Hinata, through the webbed tangle in front of her face, blankly stared at him. Her breathing became deeper as her chest heaved in and out.

It took all his willpower to not flee. If he was not holding onto her bloody foot, Naruto would have let his instincts – three years honed from multiple bathhouses with Ero-Sennin – guide him and run away.

Suddenly, Hinata became still. Her stomach stopped heaving as her breathing relaxed to stillness as if in a trance. Her face stared neutrally at Naruto, bereft of emotion. To Naruto, it seemed like her face suddenly became a stoic mask; her eyes became glassy and devoid of life.

Yet, as he looked into her paradoxically intense and dull eyes he noticed - with the exception of pupils - that it looked very similar to the way Sakura's eyes looked after the female Kumo ninja emotionally attacked her.

Immediately worried, he asked, "Hinata?" This was followed without a response. He called her again but with the same result.

Naruto then looked down her body to the scar on her abdomen. "Hinata, is that where Pein stabbed you?" Naruto asked honestly attempting to provoke a response from her.

Her only reply was to move her arms to cover her scar.

Rebuked, he muttered a quick apology and dutifully kept his attention solely on healing her foot.

'_I guess she really is mad at me._'

The truth was, Hinata could not speak to him for awhile, even if she wanted to.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"I'm sorry, Hinata," Naruto said still not looking at her face. Curious, Hinata wanted to respond when she felt a sharp pain at the top of her foot.

Now that the cut finally stopped bleeding, Naruto gingerly peeled away the gauze paying careful attention to the spots where the blood made it stick to the skin.

Afterwards, Naruto grabbed the ointment and generously applied it to the bottom of her foot. An antiseptic and an analgesic, he knew from too many personal experiences that the medicine worked best when spread over the surface of an area, and not just applied directly to the wound. Wanting nothing more than to make sure he was doing the best for his friend, he generously applied a lot of the ointment and began systematically rubbing it into her foot.

If anybody was watching, and more than a few were despite Boss' diligent threats, they would have seen a cute couple in an act of intimacy. A girl sitting on a bench perpendicular to her blond boyfriend while he dutifully massaged her foot in act of kindness, and judging by her attire, probably as a reward for her hard day working on the rice paddies.

This is what Boss believed as she witnessed Hinata and Naruto from her corner of the rice field. Despite starting late in the day and having to personally train a volunteer, she was still very surprised to find that all three of her sections of the field were still relatively done on time.

Sending Amaya home as usual, Boss waded through the water pool over to the couple's bench. More than a little curious and loving nothing more than to be nosy, she waltzed her way right up to them smiling.

Hinata's breathing became irregular again when she felt Naruto rubbed the ointment throughout her foot. Even though she could not tell him, Hinata thought it felt really good, if not downright wonderful.

However, once Naruto wrapped her foot in the bandage, she could not help but inwardly sigh in relief knowing the embarrassing situation would soon end, and she could be herself again.

Naruto, completely engrossed in his work, did not notice a shadow above him.

"Oh, Hyuuga-san, I had no idea your boyfriend was the Hero of Konoha." Boss blurted out unashamedly.

Surprised at hearing the word "boyfriend" and "Naruto" in the same sentence, Hinata instantly broke out of her trance, immediately followed by yanking her leg away from his grasp.

She then sat-up like a proper lady despite what Boss saw only a few moments ago.

Naruto, completely ridden with guilt thinking that Hinata was mad at him, as well as surprised by the sudden appearance of this stranger, thoughtlessly blurted out, "We're just friends."

"Oh," Boss said nonplussed but loving a good scandal, "I could have sworn that you were her boyfriend. I mean she didn't bat an eye to any of the farmers, even the good looking ones, and she literally ran over to you when you appeared."

Hinata, blushed and smiled lightly, but then immediately put her and eyes back down when Naruto reconfirmed that they were just friends.

Boss quickly became annoyed at the boy's stupidity and inattention to the girl's feelings.

Poignant to Hinata's obvious sadness, she bluntly said, "So the Hero of Konoha is an idiot then?"

Hinata looked at Boss nervously while Naruto turned his head away pouting.

'_What is it with me and women today?_' He thought truly bewildered.

"Hero-san," she said in total effrontery, "Let me give you some advice. Any girl who works as hard as she does is a real keeper. On top of that, she actually smiled and enjoyed the work she did, which is more so than most of the farmers here. That should tell you that Hinata here is a really really special girl." Carried away by her emotions, Boss soon realized that she practically spelled it out for the boy, but it could not be helped since he was an idiot.

Waiting for an admiral response, she was a little piqued to hear him say, "Yea, I know," in a dejected tone, unlike her daughter when she was told to go to bed early.

Boss noticed that the blonde boy did not even look at her as he said it

She then gazed at Hinata. She looked even more miserable than him. Sensing a lot of tension in the air, but ignoring it anyway, Boss smiled and gave a hearty farewell to them both. Seemingly innocuous to their lack of pleasantries (neither one said goodbye, although Hinata smiled a little), she walked away.

'_Young love. How lucky they are_,' Boss thought.

Casually, almost like an afterthought, she called out, "Hey Hyuuga-san, the sun is going to start setting soon. It gets dark here quick so most of us will stop working before then to return home. If you're going to be here much longer you and Bodyguard-san can stay at my place. It's just up the road; a green house. Oh, and you can bring Hero-san too but he'll be sleeping with the dog." Boss could not help but chuckle in amusement as she walked away from the cute couple.

Naruto sighed as that infuriating woman finally left his line of sight.

Suddenly, he heard a voice that he desperately missed but did not know until he heard it.

"Okay, Boss, thank you very much!" Hinata chirped sweetly.

Naruto, daring to hope, looked up tentatively. He became alleviated as Hinata pulled her blue hair out of her face. Finally seeing through her web of hair, Naruto saw life in her pale eyes.

He smiled sheepishly in an appeasing and apologetic manner. When she smiled back, he sighed audibly and could not help but grin even wider.

Relieved, he went to grab her foot to make sure it was not bleeding.

As he reached, however, Hinata pulled it back and away from him.

Surprised and hurt from her lack of trust, but ultimately blaming himself for her actions, Naruto kept his head down.

He then thought to stand up to take a walk and give her some space. As he attempted to stand up, however, his legs would not move. Naruto did not notice as when the adrenaline wore off, his muscles became locked in rigidity.

Not being able to leave, Naruto just plopped his tired body on the opposite side of Hinata.

Completely forgetting about the weak planks, his weight obliterated it, sending wood everywhere. What spared him from getting impaled on a mass of splinters were his quick reflexes honed from years as a shinobi. Fortunately, As Naruto grabbed the weak side guard rail and used it as an emergency crutch it did not fall because it was nailed to the ground.

Hinata, surprised at Naruto's sudden actions, saw him crouching and holding two sides of the bench for dear life. His face was red and sweat littered his forehead. It looked like Naruto was in an extreme amount of pain because he strained his muscles past their limits.

All those thoughts were byproducts though, as Hinata automatically reached over and helped support him as he crab-walked over to her.

Unfortunately, Naruto's mistake turned a two and a half size bench into one useable for approximately one adult and small child.

Thanking Hinata through pain-gritted teeth, he gingerly sat next to her.

Even with their skin touching; only half of his body rested on the bench even though Hinata scooted so far to the other side that the railing painfully dug into her lower back.

Knowing this would not work, they tried to mentally find solutions to their dilemma. This was the only surviving bench visible along the road, and since visitors rarely came up there, none of the farmers ever pushed the issue of building more, preferring instead to sit on the ground by their work sections. Also, Hinata's foot made it very difficult to walk without crutches, and Naruto's overused muscles made it impossible to help, least of all move on his own. Hinata could have called Ko for assistance but she knew neither one of them wanted that.

Instead, they did their best to adapt to their predicament. Hinata moved forward to allow Naruto to settle his body behind her. He then draped his hand over her shoulders and held the railing next to her. Content despite the awkwardness, he wanted his friend to be comfortable too.

She was still leaning forward while holding both her arms between her knees.

"Hinata?"

"Yes, Naruto-kun?" Came a soft reply.

"You can lean back."

"I-I'm, okay, thank you."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, thank you."

Noticing that she was purposefully hovering her foot above the ground, Naruto easily slipped off his sandal and slid it over to her.

Other than rest her foot on his sandal, Hinata did not indulge in Naruto's request. A few minutes went by in silence. Hinata kept her gaze on her hands while Naruto kept his attention solely on her.

Comfortable, physically at least, he hated that it was at the expense of Hinata. Yet, she would not budge, preferring instead to sit awkwardly away from him. Even though he could not see her face, he imagined her frowning and unhappy by being stuck next to him.

'_It's all my fault_," Naruto thought, '_I was the one who made her uncomfortable in the first place._'

Despite the fire in his muscles, Naruto became determined give her the space she desperately wanted. Ignoring the feeling of needles in his arm, he retracted it and started scooting off the bench.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed his, "Na-Naruto-kun, please d-don't go."

Surprised and confused, he looked back at her face. It was as red as a tomato.

"Huh? Hinata, aren't you mad at me?"

"N-no, why would I be?

"Because I looked at the scar on your stomach while you were sleeping!" Naruto said exasperated. When Hinata did not reply he continued, "Afterwards, you barely talked to me and flinched whenever I touched you. You must have been upset or offended because you constantly stared at me. "

"Oh…" Hinata said quietly. She then smiled apologetically, "I wasn't mad at you, Naruto-kun, I just…um… receded that's all."

"Huh?" Naruto said at wits end.

"I "receded." I haven't done it since I was little when my father first started teaching me our clan's taijutsu. Sometimes, during intense sessions when I didn't grasp the lessons, he would yell and even tell me that I wasn't good enough."

Naruto clenched right fist, oblivious that he was also squeezing Hinata's hand a little tighter too.

Taking the pressure as a sign of reassurance she said, "When it got really bad I somehow just stopped responding. I never did it on purpose but it just happened. It's like I was not in control of my body anymore, but I could still watch and hear him. No matter how angry he got I could not respond. Eventually, he got fed up and left me in the dojo by myself. Usually by nightfall, one of the nannies would come retrieve me and I would cry in her arms until I fell asleep."

"I'm sorry, Hinata," Naruto said keeping the pressure on her hand compassionately firm.

Hinata just nodded, looking away as she furiously blinked the tears of her memories away.

Naruto then felt horrible that his actions made her withdraw into herself.

"Hinata, I didn't mean to make you recede. I won't do it again. I prom…"

"No," Hinata interjected, "I mean it was not for the same reasons that I used too do it as a child, around my father. I honestly didn't want you to see my face turn red again, and I especially did not want to faint." '_I do not want to faint around you every again_.' "It was just a sensory overload, and added with the loss of blood, and you so close to me suddenly…"

Hinata took a deep breath to steady herself.

"Naruto-kun, I was never upset at you. Shocked and a little embarrassed but not mad. I ju-just thought that since you notice me now, that I should be better."

"Better?"

"Well, not faint or turn red when you're around me." _'I want to be a stronger woman for you._'

"Oh." Naruto contemplated her words for a few moments.

Then he spoke honestly, "But, Hinata, I really like you the way you are now. In fact, I've always liked you, so why would you want to change?"

She smiled, ignoring the rush of heat to her cheeks. Naruto grinned widely, and as he did, Hinata remembered why she fell in love with him.

It was the simplicity and sincerity in his actions which always seemed to magically erase any doubt in her mind. With just a smile, nod, or him watching her, Hinata felt that she could do or be anything. It was because of his small amount of support that she became a strong kunoichi.

Once the magic in their smile waned a little, they both looked away to ponder their own thoughts. This time, however, there was no awkwardness between them. They were just happy being near each other that words were not needed to fill the silence.

Hinata remembered how Naruto took care of her today. She noticed how her foot felt warm and protected. She then thought about his cool breadth on her stomach, and being surprised to see his face close to her body. She only interrupted him because she was worried that she would faint, and not because she ever once thought that he would take advantage of her.

Most of all, however, Hinata thought about Naruto's hand. It felt warm and comfortable, more so than any clothing she ever wore. She wondered if she felt this way because of her feelings for him, or if that is truly Naruto's gift: unyielding warmth.

On the other hand, Naruto thought about Hinata's father. He contemplated how a father could ever treat his daughter so harshly, especially one as kind as the girl next to him.

'_How could he drive his daughter to recede, then leave her alone in the dojo, and cry herself to sleep of all things?_'

He looked at Hinata. Holding her hand and watching her face, Naruto still could not fathom how anyone could treat her so badly.

Then his mind thought of something else. Although not really important, Naruto was curious and could not let the thought go unanswered.

"Hinata?" Naruto blurted out. She looked back at his face.

"So how often did your father make you faint?"

"Never."

Truly perplexed, Naruto said, "Huh, but I thought that if he makes you recede then…"

"Only you make me faint, Naruto-kun." Hinata answered truthfully.

"Oh…wait, why?" he replied dumbly.

Sighing in playful contempt, she gently grabbed his arm and put it around her. Hinata then lay back against him, not caring anymore if her face forever stayed bright red. However, she still fought a shiver as she realized that her body fit perfectly against his.

'_Simple indeed._' Hinata affectionally thought with a warm smile.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

As late afternoon turned into early evening, most of the rice-farmers packed up their stuff to go home. The few who did stay frantically finished their task so as not to get stuck in the dark. Crickets started chirping and a light shade covered the once bright sky. Since the sun was descending, the breeze made everything cold. Hinata, in her light attire, felt it immediately as it brushed her skin.

Naruto noticed her shivering, and knowing he did not need it, took off his black and orange jacket. Thankfully, although not saying it, she was very happy to be draped by his warm jacket.

Temporarily forgetting her shyness, Hinata brought her legs up, curled into a ball, and rested her head against his chest. In an effort to protect her against the cold, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and reverently rubbed it, noticing all the goosebumps he felt. He never figured out they were not due to the cold.

Hinata cherished being close to Naruto. She's never felt so warm or so comfortable in her life that she suddenly knew that she never wanted to leave his side again.

Hinata also listened to his strong and steady heartbeat. It made her feel protected, so much in fact that she would have fallen asleep listening to the rhythm if something did not just jar her memory.

In the form of a smell, she knew it was important. Her face on his chest, she inhaled his scent.

Suddenly, she remembered what it was. It was medicine, the type put on flesh wounds to stimulate healing. She had it on her body after being stabbed by Pein, and also on her foot now. To confirm her suspicions, she lightly grazed the back of her nails on his chest feeling not smooth muscle but layers of interlacing bandages. Too absorbed in her thoughts, she did not notice how his heart beat quickened by her actions.

Softly, Hinata spoke, "Naruto-kun, why did you get injured by Kumo ninjas?"

Sighing, he confessed his day to her, starting with Kakashi-sensei's news about Sasuke and ending with him blacking out. He was surprised at how easily the words came out, as if the news was always meant for her ears.

Hinata listened, not saying a word, but paying close attention.

When he finished with his story, she asked him one question, while simple, it pretty much encompassed his entire day: "Why Sasuke, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto, a little sick and tired of always defending his need to save his friend, said, "Why _not_ Sasuke?" While not meaning to, he still told her with an edge to his voice.

Hinata's apology was to dig her face deeper into his heart, and also hug him around the middle.

Remembering who he was talking to and how Hinata promised to always listen and be there for him, he felt guilty for his brashness. Naruto put his face into her hair and rubbed his cheek on her scalp, and then hugged her arm a little tighter.

"Sasuke is my best friend. He is like my brother. Although we weren't close, he is one of the people who made me who I am today."

Hinata listened intently as he continued.

"I used to be jealous of him because everyone liked him and all the girls wanted his attention."

'_Not all the girls_.' Hinata thought smiling.

"I used to watch him sit on the dock by himself, staring into the water. I should have talked to him and offer him my friendship. Sasuke was one of the few kids who never made fun of me.

"Instead, I chose him to be my rival and antagonized him at every possibility. I thought that if I could get him, the coolest and most popular boy in the academy, to acknowledge my existence then everyone else would too.

"Hinata, you know on Team 7, he was the first to acknowledge my strength? It was us two who helped release Kakashi-sensei from the water prison against the Kiri Jounin Zabuza, who was also one of the Seven Legendary Shinobi Swordsman."

Naruto paused temporarily reliving the fond memory of their first mission as Genins. He remembered being paralyzed at the first sign of danger, and it was Sasuke who fearlessly battled the ninjas. Seeing his teammate be heroic, it piqued Naruto enough to quickly steel his resolve and fight the enemy too. In his heart, Naruto believed that if it were not for Sasuke then he probably would have died a coward in that mission.

He then continued, "I was so excited for us to take the Chuunin exam together. It was our chance to prove our strength and become platoon leaders. We were supposed to help each other and make each other stronger. Everything was going fine until Orochimaru attacked us and gave Sasuke the curse seal. I thought I knew that he would never give into the temptation of power. Even when I fought Sasuke to stop him from leaving, I could not admit that he would forsake his friends for revenge..."

It really did get dark quickly at the rice fields. Sunlight still pierced some places in sporadic burst, but it was at the mercy of the clouds and the trees. The more daring night-creatures woke up early to start their night songs. The wind, formerly a breeze that cooled one's skin in the day, rushed against everything rustling the trees and rice stalks. Waves of water rolled against the stone barriers giving the effect and sound of a small beach.

Relishing in the soothing sounds, Hinata closed her eyes to ponder Naruto's words. She saw him with a dark-haired boy, eyes like dark fire, and a permanent scowl on his face. Yet, when she imagined Naruto and Sasuke fighting the legendary Zabuza she saw their dynamic teamwork, covering each other's back, and even smiling and laughing while doing it. Something akin to her cousin Neji and his friend, teammate, and rival Rock Lee, Hinata imagined Naruto and Sasuke being close friends in battle.

She then thought of the snake-man and one of the Legendary Sannin Orochimaru. Naruto said that Sasuke joined him because of a curse seal which gave him power. She imagined two friends fighting each other, no longer laughing, but still respecting each other as rivals and opponents.

Laughing mirthlessly, Naruto spoke his sudden revelation, "I guess I really did not know his pain after all. I always thought we could somehow connect because we were both alone. I never thought he would submit to the darkness in his heart, but then again, my parents were taken away from me before I even knew them.

"It took Ero-Sennin to be murdered by Pein for me to fully realize how tempting revenge and hate could be. I was this close, Hinata, so close to killing Nagato that, at the time, I could already see his blood on my fists.

"Sasuke had his entire family and clan eradicated in one night. Without warning or provocation, his entire world was shattered. The worst of it though, is that it was his brother murdered all of them, including his parents. Instead of killing Sasuke, however, he spared him to an even crueler fate; that of an avenger. I have a feeling that Sasuke loved Itachi more than anyone else in his family, and he twisted that love turning it into hate. I think Itachi's eyes followed Sasuke wherever he went, so even though he had friends who cared about him, he could never truly keep peace in his heart."

Hinata opened her eyes, breaking her reverie. She did not want to imagine that.

"Naruto-kun," she said. "I still do not know why you want to save him so badly. According to you, his life is consumed with hate despite your friendship, and has also hurt many people, including you. I mean, is it because of your promise to Sakura-chan?"

Usually, Naruto would have just said yes since all his friends know of his legendary Nindo to never give up. Yet, that would be a lie, or more precisely a shallow truth.

"I want to save him because I love him."

Despite being comfortable with him, Hinata actually blushed at his confident statement, which paradoxically, is what she wished he would say to her.

She tried to logically analyze his bold statement, but she could not help herself as an uncensored thought slipped into her consciousness, '_I guess I'm glad Sasuke is a boy and not a girl_.'

As if reading her thoughts, Naruto continued, "He's like my brother. Would you turn your back on a loved one if he turned to darkness?"

Hinata started to see where he was going with this.

"Everyone else abandons him, ignoring or not even bothering to understand his agony, and just lets him go. What if you and you alone had the power to save him? Would you not risk everything for his soul?"

'_Of course I would,'_ she thought. '_I understand more than you know, Naruto-kun_.' Hinata idly pushed away thoughts of her confrontation with Pein. She then looked up into his eyes and nodded her affirmation.

"I understand now, Naruto-kun," she stated sincerely.

Skeptical at first, all doubt evaporated when he looked into Hinata's compassionate eyes.

Naruto smiled. He never thought that anyone could understand, much less accept, his reasons for wanting to save Sasuke.

Without realizing it, he suddenly felt a ponderous weight lift from his heart. He then squeezed Hinata a little tighter and kept his cheek on her head.

Hinata felt his affection and relished in it. However, despite the temptation to get caught up in the moment, Hinata still needed clarification on her first question.

"But, um, Naruto-kun, why did you get beat up by the Kumo ninjas?"

"I let them."

'_You let them do this to you!'_ Hinata thought incredulously.

"Sasuke killed one of their teammates and friend. He also captured their master and Jinchuuriki like me, essentially committing him to death as well. I could never betray Sasuke, but I could understand their pain and anger."

"But why didn't you just stop them, constrain them, and then talk to them? You didn't have to fight them and be injured!" Hinata said with rising anger.

"Justice. Someone had to pay, and they wanted it in blood. Hinata, no amount of talking would have given them what they wanted, which is revenge. Instead, I gave them my blood willingly in compensation for Sasuke's sins."

"What does that accomplish! They are still going to hunt for Sasuke whether or not they hurt you. You did not have to let them do this to you." Hinata, despite her soft tone and calm demeanor, was really angry. Each word she spoke had a sharp edge to it like a knife in the shadow.

Not understanding why she was getting upset he shamelessly said, "It was my sacrifice, Hinata. Please do not worry because I wouldn't have let them kill me."

"Please do not lie to me. I have never seen your body this injured before, and you were stabbed multiple times by Pein yesterday!"

Hinata was livid. She was eye level now with Naruto, kneeling in front of his face, eyes boring into his soul. He was surprised at the amount of confidence she was exuding.

Naruto, wavering against her glare, smiled hoping to lighten the tension.

When that failed he quickly scoured his brain for some memory or advice to calm a woman down in desperate situations. Unfortunately, the only lessons he learned about the female sex were from Ero-Sennin.

One lesson came to mind but it almost never worked when his old master tried it.

Thinking that she was not going to get any angrier, Naruto used the dirty but effective tactic, "Hinata-chan, you look quite cute when you're angry."

Hinata has seldom ever received compliments from anyone, least of all Naruto. Despite her best efforts to surf her anger, she still blushed profusely. Semi-mollified, she sank lower.

'_It worked?_' Naruto audibly sighed thinking he was out of hot water.

However, she said one thing before returning her head to his chest, "Naruto-kun, you don't understand. What do you think would happen if you ended up in a coma or even died? Wouldn't the people who care about you try and get your revenge too? What do you think I would have done if something happened to you?"

Naruto no longer felt proud, and instead he wished that she was still mad at him.

As he contemplated her words, he started to feel some moistness on his shirt, followed by some slight trembling in the girl who considred _him_ her loved one.

Finally getting her point he said, "I'm sorry, Hinata."

Still not satisfied with his apology Hinata kept silently weeping.

Hating that he upset her he immediately tried to alleviate the situation without the use of his master's "teachings."

"Um, how about if I make you a deal, Hinata? Next time something like this happens, you can be there, to, um, stop me."

"Stop you from yourself?" She answered incredulously.

"Yea…"

"Ok…"

"You're kind of like my guardian angel, I think. I wouldn't mind if you, you know, watched over me." Naruto was at wits end virtually grasping at straws.

"When you're about to get attacked by Kumo ninjas, or when you do something stupid?"

"Yes, I mean no."

"Naruto-kun, I don't understand."

"I mean always watch over me!" Naruto blurted out exasperated. He was confused and felt like his words were being twisted.

"What I meant was always watch me in general, not just when I'm going to get beat up by Kumo ninjas. Actually, I mean not constantly watch over me, but you know when you happen to be around and…" Naruto trailed off knowing he just dug himself a hole.

When no rebuttal came from Hinata, he looked down to see her smiling up at him.

Perplexed, he immediately thought, '_I don't know what I said but at least she's smiling_.'

"Ok, Naruto-kun, I'll protect you from yourself, Kumo ninjas, and everything else that attacks you," she said playfully but with a solemn undercurrent Naruto of course missed.

The blond ninja looked away trying to hide his confused expression. That is not what he meant to say because he did not want to seem he like he was a Gennin who needed protection. But then again, he preferred her smiling over crying any day.

Sighing, he could not help but grin too.

Suddenly, he remembered why he came to see Hinata in the first place. Digging into his jacket pocket (thankfully next to him on Hinata's shoulder), he gingerly grasped it before taking it out.

"Oi, Hinata, I have a present for you."

"But... um… Na-Naruto-kun, you didn't have to, um" Hinata became very shy again.

Before she could keep on stammering, he opened his fist to reveal a sharp blue crystal roughly shaped like a stalagmite. The size of half her pinky, the first thing she noticed was how bright it was like it was its own light source.

"Don't worry. It's very sturdy but a little sharp so be careful."

He then handed over the gem into her hands.

She picked it up and stared at it in the moonlight.

'_It's the color of Naruto's eyes_,' she thought.

"Where did you get this?"

"This used to be part of the Shodai Hokage's necklace Tsunade-obaachan gave to me. It is supposed to be a rare gem that can control the Kyuubi's powers."

Naruto closed his eyes before going on again.

As if reliving a distant memory he said, "The jewel in the necklace tried to restrain me when six tales came out. In Kyuubi form, however, I all but obliterated the necklace. I would have tried to lace some twine or rope to it to make it look pretty, but I didn't have time."

What he did not tell her was that he literally did not have any time. After leaving Kakashi, it took him hours to find one shard. This was with the help of five Kage Bunshins which was the most he could summon in his state. They looked everywhere in a radius surrounding the spot he where succumbed to the Kyuubi's chakra, and it did not help that people and construction were everywhere.

Since four of the clones covered the four quadrants around "ground zero," he and one of the other Naruto's went to search in the outlying sectors. He went North while the other went South. It was only a matter of sheer luck that he found one of the shards.

As he was walking near the tree-line he happened to see a bright light shimmering off one of the trees. At first, he thought it was a shinobi signaling him with a mirror, but a closer inspection revealed not a ninja but a bright blue object embedded in the trunk.

The shard was dug in so deep that if it were not for the sun behind him, it is highly doubtful that anyone would have ever found it.

Removing it very carefully, with a wind-infused kunai, he managed to cut out a section of the tree without destroying the precious gem.

He spent too much time carefully dislodging the shard from the wood, that when he finished, he immediately left in search of Hinata.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata said breaking his reverie, "Thank you but why are you giving it to me? I mean shouldn't you keep it just in case?"

Expecting this question, he answered truthfully, "No I do not think it would do me anymore good. I have to start being able to control the Kyuubi's chakra on my own. Plus, the necklace was ineffective yesterday, so I doubt a small shard will be much help for me anymore."

He then continued albeit timidly, "I got this present for you as a thank you for trying to protect me yesterday. And since you know, I guess you're going to guard me against…myself…I guess, then I think the present suits you perfectly."

Embarrassed, Naruto turned his head away to laugh hoping to keep the mood light. He never intentionally gave a gift to a girl before, and so he had no idea how one would respond. Whenever Ero-Sennin gave a female a gift, she either destroyed it or threw it back at his face. So it was to be expected for him to worry when he heard only his voice chuckling.

'_What is she doing?_'

As he looked back to see what happened to Hinata, his first thought was, '_Close!_' She was much closer, or more precisely, her face was. He noticed that she was looking at him with what seemed like gratitude and longing?

Everything in her face was still and calm with the exception of her eyes. They danced intelligently as if reading some message in his soul.

He was enchanted by her faint lavender pupils, visible only because of their intimately close proximity. He watched them, following them, allowing himself to be hypnotized.

Even before his mind registered his actions, his face gravitated closer towards hers. As if on queue, her eyes closed giving a signal that even Naruto could not miss. He closed his in turn mentally imagining her face.

Trapped in a world of their own, they used their other senses to compliment the mind's-eye image of each other.

Hinata could hear the crickets in the forest chirping their atmospheric Genjutsu over the couple. She also felt the wind on the back of her neck, giving her goosebumps and heightening her expectations. Last, she could smell his hot breadth on her face, and at that moment she wanted nothing more than to kiss him.

Naruto, on the other hand, despite the crickets, the wind, and the very pleasant smell coming from Hinata's hair blowing on the side of his face, was doing his best to ignore a severe pain that suddenly eminated from the back of his head. However, it traveled quickly down to his neck, his spine, and into his stomach where it intensified enough to make him shiver.

Breaking out of the trance, he opened his eyes which helped to stifle a groan. He barely registered Hinata's soft lips on his left whisper marks as he turned his head to investigate his stomach.

Confused, Hinata pulled back away from his body.

"What's wrong, Naruto-kun?" She stated frantically upon seeing him in agony.

Suddenly, the pain in his stomach shot up to his heart, and he finally realized what was going on.

_'My mandate!_' he thought.

Naruto, in a full fledge panic, jumped out of the chair ignoring his body's excruciating protest because it would not matter soon anyway.

"Hinata, please listen to me. I do not have time to explain, but know that I did not have any other choice. My mission was to give you the present. Also, I want to let you know that I think that I really…"

Naruto doubled over as the pain in his chest shot up back to his head.

Sensing the imminent loss of his consciousness, he needed to portray one last thing, "I promise I will remember everything. I'll see you soon, Hinata-chan."

He did his best to give her his brightest smile, despite losing consciousness.

Hinata, with quick reflexes, positioned herself to catch his unconscious body. Unfortunately, she was not prepared as his entire body lost control and plummeted down towards her.

The dead-weight slipped through her arms and his now heavy head, rather forcefully, fell on her breasts.

"EEEEEPP!"

Ko, finished his work with his team hours ago. He was going to let his charge know when he saw her sitting with a blond boy who he knew to be Uzumaki Naruto. Sensing young love, he did not want to ruin this chance for his master despite what her father may think (who did not give him any instructions regarding Uzumaki anyway).

Instead, he stayed back but still within hearing range just in case she needed him. Relishing in a chance to relax, he closed his eyes to meditate in the peaceful countryside.

He woke up later in the dark due to a scream he knew to be Hinata's. Byakugan activated, Ko rebuked himself for his carelessness and hoped that she was okay.

Upon arriving, he saw Hinata sitting by herself. He wondered where the Kyuubi-boy was and what he did to his charge. Also, with eyes trained to see every detail, Ko noticed that she was still wearing her farming clothes despite the obvious cold and wind. Hinata always liked to be warm and never took off her jacket.

'_What is going on? What happened and where is Uzumaki!_'

Extremely worried, Ko bent in front of her face. "Hinata-sama! Hinata-sama! What happened? Is everything okay!"

He did not notice the smoke around her.

Lips trembling and face beet-red, her only reply was, "Kage…Bunshin…"

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Kage Bunshin is a Jounin level technique where a ninja creates a whole other body splitting the amount of chakra between each one. Kakashi explained to Naruto that it was originally used in scouting missions because when the clone is killed or the jutsu is released, the memories of the clone go back to the original body. This allows a squad of shinobi to analyze a potential ambush without needlessly losing men.

The problem with the Kage Bunshin technique is that it uses a lot of chakra. Add on that the fact that it splits the chakra evenly between each body, a person can be drained of all his energy right away. It was definitely not meant to be used in battle, nor for long periods of time.

Only shinobi with high chakra and stamina levels, or in the case of Naruto, ungodly amounts of energy, can use it favorably in battle. His favorite and signature jutsu, the Kage Bunshin is the backbone from which almost all his attacks are based off. Furthermore, because the user remembers the experience of each clone, Naruto can learn techniques and skills much faster by training with Kage Bunshins.

In the case of today, he enlisted the help of his clones to find a shard of the fractured jewel he once wore on his necklace. If he was healthy, he would have enlisted over 100 Kage Bunshins but since he was weak and injured, he could only summon five extra bodies to help.

His mandate to them was simple: find a shard and then find Hinata. If one found Hinata before finding a broken gem, then they were to find the other clones and let them know.

All six of them split potential areas, where a shard might be, into grids. The original Naruto and three of his clones would take the four quadrants, in a radius, surrounding where he turned into Kyuubi form.

The remaining two were tasked to look on the outlying or improbable areas where a shard might have landed. One would start in the Northern outlier and one in the Southern area and then sweep the areas in a clockwise fashion, eventually completing a half-circle.

He also told them that if they are still summoned after two hours, then it means that the other clones are still unsuccessful in their search, and that the main Naruto had to leave already to catch up to the Raikage. If this was the case, then they were to keep searching until either the mission was completed, their jutsu was dispelled by the original, or until nightfall.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

On the border of the Fire Country, a simple cabin lays between two large trees in a forest. The interesting thing is that the cabin did not exist one month ago or even yesterday. A powerful shinobi with the extremely rare ability to create and manipulate wood built it just a few hours ago.

Inside the cabin, one ninja lay in a sleepless and feverish state, while his two captains watch on worried.

"I do not like this, Senpai. He does not look good."

"I agree, Tenzo," said the senpai to his kohai. "Unfortunately, we cannot move him in this state because we're too far from Konoha. It could potentially make his condition worse."

"Then what should we do, Senpai? Despite his usual enthusiastic spirit, Naruto quickly dragged behind. I have never seen him lose so much stamina while traveling before. Do you think we underestimated his injuries?"

"No, I do not think so." Kakashi then moved in closer to study his friend and mentee. He noticed that Naruto was sweating heavily despite the copious breeze flooding in through the glassless windows. Normally a healthy pink-tan skin tone, Naruto's face was ghostly white.

"He's had a bad fever for several hours now," said a worried Tenzo, or codename: Yamato as he was known to his subordinates on Team 7.

"If I didn't know any better," Kakashi said looking back to his teammate, "I swear he's suffering from chakra exhaustion."

"That doesn't make sense because doesn't he usually gain a lot of stamina when he sleeps?"

"I agree but all we can do now is just wait to see what happens. If his condition doesn't change, or instead worsens in the next hour then we'll have no choice but to take him to the nearest hospital."

Suddenly, as if possessed by a ghost, Naruto sat up with eyes wide open staring at nothing. Then, as quickly as the phantasm came, it left allowing Naruto to lay back down where he immediately fell into a deep sleep.

Extremely worried, the two captains rushed over to each side of Naruto. Tenzo, a wet towel in his hands from the water bucket nearby, put the towel on his subordinate's forehead. Afterwards, he took Naruto's temperature with the back of his hand.

"It looks like his fever finally broke."

"Yea, and his color is returning to normal."

The sleeping ninja then muttered something in his sleep.

Curious and wondering if he was awake, Kakashi asked him gently, "What is it, Naruto? Naruto, are you awake?"

Still muttering incoherently, Kakashi lowered his ear to his mouth.

Tenzo noticed Kakashi listening for a few seconds. Then, without a word, Kakashi looked up with a slight blush on his face.

He signaled Tenzo with a gesture that meant "come with me we're leaving" and they both left his room.

In the hall Tenzo asked, "Senpai, what did Naruto say?"

"Nothing," Kakashi lied.

"No, seriously, what did he say?"

Despite the incessant probing in the following hours to come, Kakashi would not tell his comrade what Naruto said; probably not tell a soul.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Naruto said, "Dai suki desu."

* * *

Author's Notes:

1. Thank you very much for reading my story, as well as for the wonderful comments from the first chapter. Without them, I probably would not have finished this chapter (I honestly gave up a few times).

2. That being said, your support helps me to keep on writing. I have a direction and an ending in mind so I'm thinking of writing 7 chapters total, lol, if I can keep the momentum going.

3. If you haven't noticed I flirt and dance with the canon plot alot, often weaving my story in and around what Kishimoto wrote. Obviously, I've changed a ton of things compared to how the manga portrayed certain scenes, i.e. Karui and Omoi, but it wouldn't be a fan fic if I just rehash the same story. You might as well read the manga because it's better. :P However, I'm most probably going to split from the main story and not follow it anymore. Actually, I'm almost 100% sure I will split soon.

4. Anyway, this chapter was over 3 times as long as the first one. I've been writing it for the last three weeks and I'm not lying when I say that I read my story at least 30 times, and added or taken away content all the way up to a few minutes ago. I do not know how long each chapter will be as the story unfolds for me as I write.

5. I'm a firm believer in quality over quantity, so my updates will be when I can do them. It's a little hard with a full time job, but I make sincere efforts to write every day.

6. Also, I'm not perfect so I know there are grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, character flaws, plot holes, repetitions etc. I do my best to catch them but you know...sometimes I don't even after reading it 30 times :( At least I did not spell Uchiha and Yamato wrong...I think.

6. I have a reason and a meaning behind almost every word in my writing. Please don't complain that I'm using Japanese instead of English words (I obviously do not know Japanese, and other than the honorifics I do not really use them).

6. Now a few minor things. Kakashi is not gay although it shouldn't matter anyway. In this chapter, it was just fun to write him like that. I hope everyone knows that this is not a harem. Sakura is important to Naruto whether or not they are romantically involved.

Thanks again for reading,

Malakas.


	3. Homecoming

"Hail and Farewell"

(Part One)

Prologue

The phrase, I'm supposed to remember the phrase. I've been here before, a hundred times it seems.

_A beautiful location in the mountains. _

_A young farmer wading through the tall stalks. _

_She meets a weary traveler who is limping and covered in bandages._

_He is now carrying the girl oblivious to his own injuries. _

_A large Maple tree. Long branches swooping down protecting its inhabitants. Fuchsia leaves covering the couple in its protective grasp._

Who are they?

"Hinata…" I hear the blond boy say.

Oh yes, the girl's name is Hinata.

_Swirling clouds. The sun behind a dark mountain. Shadows blanket everything._

It is now dark.

Words are spoken but I can only understand the emotions behind them.

It is almost time. What is the phrase?

_A present. The boy gives the girl a bright blue gem. It lights up the darkness_.

_Gratitude. Longing_.

"Naruto…" The girl says.

Naruto. Why does that name sound familiar?

_The feeling of wind on my back. Crickets singing in the background. The smell of pressed flowers. The girl's face near mine._

Quickly, it is time. I need to remember.

Our eyes close yet I still see her. Her lips come closer to mine. Or am I gravitating towards her?

_Desire. Fruition._

The boy abruptly moves his face away.

Soft-warm lips on my cheek.

_Surprise. Agony._

He gets up but I stay next to the girl. I do not want to leave her side.

_Realization. Determination._

The girl stares at the boy. The boy looks at the girl. I watch them both.

He opens his mouth to speak.

_Compassion. Truth._

I know the phrase. I remember it.

The boy and I both say, "Hinata, I think that, I really…"

-/-

'…_Love you._'

Naruto sat up sweating profusely. He breathed in and out trying to adjust his mind to the waking world.

He is in a wooden room lit copiously from the window behind him. Through the swaying branches in the outside, light flooded the space casting moving shadows on the wall in front of him.

He hardly noticed, however, as he was trying to decipher the dancing shadows in his own mind.

'_I love you._' Naruto kept thinking in his head. The thoughts would not leave.

He then heard the sound of dishes clanking in the next room. With the smell of cooking food, he could not help but realize how hungry he was.

Focusing on the day, he lazily got up hardly caring about the stiffness in his movements.

Upon arriving, twin ebony eyes bore into him. Usually, Naruto would have been afraid of Yamato's infamous glare, but with all the thoughts racing through his head, he barely noticed.

"Hey…" his captain said to him, "We're leaving in twenty minutes. We'll have to run hard throughout the rest of the day and night if we're going to catch up to the Raikage."

'_Raikage_,' Naruto thought to himself. Suddenly, the fog lifted from his mind. Thoughts of yesterday's events rushed into his head: Danzo as the new Hokage, Kumo ninjas asking for permission to kill Sasuke, Sakura crying, Hinata at…

Naruto shook his head trying to remove the cobwebs from his mind.

Something bothered him, "Yamato-taichou, I thought we had another day of travel to catch up to the Raikage."

"We did," was his captain's terse reply.

When Naruto just looked confused, Yamato continued, "Naruto, it is almost four in the afternoon. You have been asleep for about eighteen hours." Despite, his calm demeanor, Naruto could not miss the irritation in his voice.

"Seventeen minutes. I suggest you wash up and pack your stuff quickly. Kakashi-san will be back soon; we'll eat, and then we're going to be running all night."

When his subordinate did not so much as blink, Yamato sighed.

"I'm sorry, Naruto. It's not your fault. We must have severely underestimated your injuries. Are you okay? How are you feeling?"

"Huh?" Naruto replied waking up from his thoughts. He quickly recovered. "I'm fine. I feel good as new!" The blond ninja then smiled brightly while flexing his arms.

With his usual optimism, he said, "Sorry about that. We'll definitely catch up to the Raikage!"

As he walked over to the washroom Naruto had to accept something before leaving, else he would not be able to accomplish the mission. It is the same thing that has been bothering him since he woke up and he did not have the time to ponder it.

Pushing the latching thoughts away and resigning them as a cruel fantasy, Naruto admitted to himself, '_It was just a dream, just a damn dream_.'

In the ensuing weeks, the couple in paradise would all but be forgotten.

Chapter 3: "Homecoming"

_"Why is it that hate comes out so easily, yet...love? It gets trapped inside." ~ Author Unknown_

On the outskirts of Konoha, a compound was recently built. Within the grey walls houses upon houses were erected in a square fashion. With the exception of a gap right after the main gate, large enough to allow carriages through, as well as a small escape route at the opposite end, the houses were interconnected. Taking their duty to heart, the Branch Families built their homes as a natural barrier to protect what is most sacred to them.

Dead-center in approximately equal radius from each of the houses, lays the largest and most lavish of the edifices. The size of a mansion, visitors have compared the Main Family's complex to that of a small wooden palace.

In the middle of the residence, exists a unique structure only available to the main family. A sand garden, it is maintained by specially trained members of the Branch Family, but its secrets are only known to the main family. Two servants watched in passive fascination as their master trained in the garden.

Their master wore a simple _Iromuji _typical of the Hyuuga clan. Mahogany hair with a single strand bisecting her forehead, the black attire drew out the Lilac color of her eyes.

Always striving for the approval of her father, she wanted nothing more than to figure out the secrets of the sand garden. In fact, it infuriated her how her cousin, a mere branch family member, unlocked the secret of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, the ultimate Hyuuga technique which closes all sixty-four chakra points in the body, rendering the victim unable to utilize their vital energy for anything but normal Taijutsu.

"Hanabi," a familiar voice said breaking her concentration.

"You've been working very hard all day. Why don't you take a break and have some tea with me?"

Not looking at her, she replied, "Oneesan, I cannot. Otoosan expects me to learn this technique."

"When?"

"He did not say, just that he wants me to learn it."

"So if not right now, then why don't you have some tea with your Onee_chan_. I bet clearing your head will help you to learn the secrets of the sand. Plus, it's been awhile since we've talked alone together, Hanabi."

Hanabi looked to her sister and then visibly sighed. Sticking out like a sore thumb, she wondered why her father allowed Hinata to wear her gaudy lavender outfit within the compound. Furthermore, she was carrying the tea-table herself.

'_That's what the branch families are for,_' Hanabi thought incredulous.

As the two sisters sat down, Hanabi could not help but stifle a scoff as her own Oneesan poured tea for her. Hanabi looked to her right, and almost laughed watching the Hyuuga servants walk forward. They wanted to approach the table to serve the tea, but once Hinata did it for them, they retracted quickly. Hanabi knew they were confused.

"I'm used to doing things for myself. Plus," her sister said with a smile, "Okaasan used to do this for me."

Mentioning her mother's name brought a little sadness into Hanabi's heart. She was jealous that her older sister knew her whereas she was too young to even remember when she died. But then again, if her sister is an indication of what her mother was like, then maybe it was better that she did not know her. Hanabi instantly regretted thinking negatively of her mother, but she excused her blasphemous thoughts in the name of become stronger for the clan.

Yet, watching her sister's easy smile and kind eyes did have a soothing effect on her soul.

'_Is this what it's like to have a mother?_' Hanabi could not help but notice the grace in Hinata's subtle movements. She observed in passive fascination as her older sister poured the tea, followed by cupping it with both hands. Looking into the cup as if it was the last one she would ever drink, she then slowly put it to her lips; blowing kisses to a lover beyond the drink.

'_This could not be the same Oneesan who Otoosan deemed as the failed heiress of the Hyuuga clan; the one who I was more powerful than at three years of age. Otoosan always judged her as useless, unnecessary, and in general, an embarrassment to the main family,_' Hanabi thought to herself while discreetly watching her sister, pretending to sip her own tea.

'_However_," Hanabi then thought to test her sister.

"Oneesan, any news on Uzumaki?"

The Hyuuga have always been respected for their uncanny ability to cut through illusions, and this time was no exception. Hanabi smirked as Hinata coughed choking on the tea in her mouth. She almost dropped the cup but quickly set it down before covering her own lips. Unfortunately, she was not fast enough and some of it leaked through her fingers, spilling onto her jacket.

As she quickly recovered, Hanabi noticed two servants run forward hesitantly and then quietly back away again.

"Hanabi, ww-why, d-do you want to know about Naruto-kun?"

"Why not, he's obviously important to you? Plus, did you not spend some time with him at the rice fields?"

Hanabi watched as Hinata gasped trying to pretend it was tea in her throat rather than a lump in the form of her sister's words.

Hanabi said, "Your favorite servant, I forgot his name, the one who was assigned to protect you."

"Ko…he told you?"

"He had to. As a branch member he has to answer if I ask him," Hanabi said feeling devious.

"Otoosan, does he know?"

"No, he does not. I am surprised though at how apathetic he was towards you. Two members of the Hyuuga clan missing for a week, one his own daughter, and he did not even mention your name."

Hanabi scanned her sister's face as multiple emotions flashed through it.

"Why do you want to know, Hanabi?"

"What, I cannot ask Oneesan about her love life? You know I do not get one and I would love to hear about the infamous Uzumaki. Of course you, Oneesan, would be the kind of person who would date, or dare I say, _marry_ outside the clan. I wonder what Otoosan thinks about this." Hanabi said the last statement almost to herself, playfully putting a finger to her lips.

Hanabi quickly realized her mistake when her older sister, despite the blush in her cheeks, instantly clammed up, folding her arms against her chest.

"Oneesan, I think Uzumaki is going to be back in a week, just in time for the festival," she said hoping to assuage the situation. "The Fire Country is going to honor him."

Although keeping an impassive mask, Hanabi could tell by mentioning her lover's name that Hinata was at least slightly paying attention to her.

"While Tsunade-sama was still in a coma, the council, insisted by the Fire Country Daimyo, wanted to throw Uzumaki a special festival in honor of him. I do not know the exact details but it was supposed to commemorate his accomplishments and show how the Country of Fire always supported him."

"That's not true!" Hanabi jumped at her sister's unexpected outburst. "Only recently have people noticed Naruto-kun. Growing up, almost every…one…"

Recovering quickly, Hanabi snuffed her sister's little tirade with a wave of her hand. She hated being interrupted.

"Oneesan, the council knows this. When Gondaime woke up, she said essentially the same thing, but even the great Tsunade-sama could not refuse the Daimyo's wishes, especially considering all the resources he put into reconstructing Konoha."

Seeing her sister distressed, Hanabi sighed before continuing, "However, being a Hokage does carry some weight. She at least changed the theme from worshipping Uzumaki, and instead, to a new year's celebration in honor of the rebuilding of Konoha."

"Wait I thought Danzo was the Hokage…" Hanabi noticed her sister trail off and then become closed off again. Yet, behind her blank stare, Hanabi knew there was a torrent of thoughts rushing in her mind.

"Danzo was killed by Sasuke," she said simply as if just telling Hinata the weather. "Thankfully, Gondaime awoke and is in charge again. Otoosan and I would hate to see what idiot the Daimyo would pick to be the next Hokage."

Despite laughing herself, Hanabi was dismayed at her sister's well-practiced stoicism. Her only reaction was a slight downward curl of her lips, an obvious frown to a Hyuuga observer; it could have easily been missed by anyone else.

"What?" Hanabi said, "I attend the council meetings with Otoosan. I'm supposed to know these things."

She then grinned trying to goad a reaction from her sister. However, when Hinata kept her face still, she became desperate.

"Please Oneechan! I want to hear about your _Naruto-kun,'_" Hanabi said in baby-talk. She also grabbed her sister's hand and tugged on it, the way she used to when they were younger. She held onto them, knowing that if she released them, then her sister would fidget and become shy. Hanabi also stared into her sister's gentle eyes, knowing that it would only be a matter of time before Hinata's weakness would force her to surrender to her own wishes.

"Okay…Hanabi," she barely heard her sister's whisper. Although grinning, Hanabi could not help but feel joy when her sister not only caved in, but also acquiesced a small but genuine smile was well.

Hanabi listened as Hinata told her about her experiences at the rice fields. Keeping her opinions to herself, despite wanting to ask her sister why she would even demean herself with the lowly work, she knew that Hinata was purposefully avoiding sharing her experiences with Uzumaki.

Bored, Hanabi quickly realized that she would have to prod if she would ever hear the juicy details.

"Oneechan," she said guilefully, "I've never met Uzumaki in person before. What is he like?"

Hanabi idly listened. Hinata gave her the typical girl-crush descriptions such as strong, handsome, courageous, etc. She pretended, however, to pay apt attention so that her sister could keep on talking and opening up.

When she thought her sister was done talking, she held Hinata's hands tighter and put on the sweetest and cutest face she could come up with.

"Oneeechann," she whined purposefully, "what's it like to…to kiss h-him?"

"Hanabi! Well, I, uh, don't really, we, never, um…kissed."

"That's not what I heard," she said springing the trap.

"It's true!" She heard her sister squeal.

"Then what really happened, Oneechan?"

"Why, do you want to know, Hanabi?"

"I already told you," she said suddenly on the defensive. "I just want to know—"

"Are you going to tell Otoosan? If you're trying to get me in trouble, Hanabi—"

"No," she said as tears welled up in her eyes. Hanabi quickly looked away embarrassed and mortified with herself.

'_This was not part of the plan_,' she thought wondering why she started crying.

Hanabi did not realize she let go of her sister's hands until she felt a firm but gentle grip on them. She looked into Hinata's compassionate eyes and felt a river of calm wash over her.

"Then, what is it?" She heard her sister say gently.

"I already told you…" Hanabi said disheartened. "I mean I just want to know what it's like… to-to fall in love.

"Okay, Hanabi."

The two clansmen assigned to watch over the two main family daughters did so with a seemingly impassive stance. Yet, as all attentive servants and guards, their eyes scanned everything, every detail. Both noticed how their masters' demeanors changed from tense civility to absolute relaxation.

The younger of the two, Hanabi-sama, held her sister's hands while she barraged the other one with questions. The elder Hyuuga smiled and almost hesitantly answered her, yet, as the conversation wore on, Hinata-sama talked more and the younger asked less.

As the day passed, they noticed that neither one of their masters touched their tea, since they spent all of their time smiling and talking. The servants became so absorbed in the two ladies' smiles that they failed to hear the sliding door close behind them.

The guards hesitated, as they felt a rush of cold air, when another Hyuuga purposefully walked in-between them, not stopping until he was right in front of the two princesses.

Their inaction was a grave mistake.

"How romantic, Oneechan! However, there's something that bothers me."

"You mean the fact that he was just a clone?"

"No, no, I mean yes a little…but Oneechan you let him massage your foot?"

"No! I told you. He was putting on ointment—"

"I can not believe he massaged your sweaty and _bloody_ foot. How scandalous! Did it feel…"

Suddenly, both girls stopped talking and looked at the intruder. The sister with the blue hair smiled.

Before she could greet him, the other exploded, "You! How dare you interrupt us! You should no better—"

"Hanabi! Stop this. Ko, it's okay…"

"No it is not!" Hanabi stood up livid. Even before she could turn to tower over the servant, Ko had already prostrated himself, kneeling before his master, as low as possible.

She walked to the left side of his head.

'_Ko. I remember him now. This is the one who father mistakenly kept around Oneesan for too long._'

"Oneesan, apparently this one has not been fully trained in his duty and he needs a fervent reminder."

Before Hinata could act, blinding pain was sent to Ko's forehead. A special Hyuuga jutsu reserved solely for use on Branch Members, it is the Main Family's way of protecting the secrets of the clan because they can use it to destroy one's mind before an enemy can steal their traits.

Concentrating on her task, she was surprised when her usually timid and kind sister shook her.

"Hanabi, Hanabi, stop this. You're hurting him!"

'_She yelled at me,_' Hanabi thought momentarily dazed by the surprising actions. Woken up by her shaking, her temper flared. It was one thing to show weakness as a main family member, but it is treacherous to intercept one, especially the future heir.

'_She would never do that to Otoosan,_' Hanabi thought betrayed. Furious that her sister would interfere, she turned her anger on her.

"Oneesan, you, this is your fault! This is why the branch families lack discipline. You're too weak. Without our strength to guide them, our clan would surely fall. They lack the power protect the Hyuuga from those who would hurt us. This is why father passed you over for me!"

Hanabi stared at her sister with as much power and strength she could muster, bolstered by anger.

'_I am not weak_,' Hanabi thought glaring at Hinata. '_I am the future heir, the one chosen by Otoosan. I have to do this!_'

The silence between them was palpable, and if it were not for Ko's groans, then the garden would have been devoid of sound.

Staring into her sister's eyes, Hanabi was surprised that Hinata was not cowering in fear like she usually would around their father. Instead, it almost seemed like her sister's eyes were scolding her, pitying her for her childish actions.

This infuriated Hanabi even more, and she would have said something, had it not been for a succinct cough which drew her attention.

'_What is he doing here?_' Hanabi thought staring at the interloping servant dressed in white, standing with a serious scowl on his face. She would have disciplined him too was it any other branch family member. Yet, even Hanabi knew to be a little wary of Neji the head of the branch families. Not only was he considered the genius of the clan, but he had her father's ear. Furthermore, in recent years he has only been loyal to the main family, and even she would not use the curse seal on him without salient cause.

"Pardon the interruption Hinata-sama, Hanabi-sama, and please forgive Ko's insolence."

She saw him turn his gaze on Ko. "How disappointing that you could not even deliver a simple message from Ojisama. Get up and out of sight. I will come find you once I figure out a proper punishment."

Hanabi watched as Ko, respectfully as possible, fled the room.

'_I was not done with him yet_,' Hanabi thought annoyed. '_Well at least Neji will ensure that he will be properly disciplined_.'

"Neji," Hanabi did her best to keep her voice civil. "What did Otoosan need from me?"

"Forgive me, Hanabi-sama. He actually wants to speak with you, Hinata-sama."

Hanabi swore that she heard her sister gasp her last breath, as if her father's summon sealed her doom.

'_Finally_,' Hanabi thought fighting to show her smug satisfaction. She was wondering when her father would confront her sister about the _"_Pein Incident." It has been a few weeks since Hinata was almost killed attempting to save a boy who never even talked to her before. Although she personally found it quite romantic, as her father's protégé she knew that it was extremely embarrassing to the clan.

Hanabi watched her sister listlessly walk towards the sliding door. Her eyes narrowed, however when she accidentally spied a slight pause when Hinata passed Neji. If she turned towards the table and took a sip of her now cold tea, she would have missed the gesture. Instead, she saw her cousin's scowl deepen and then contract quickly, which meant he was momentarily caught off guard.

As Hinata reached the sliding doors, Hanabi irritatedly called out, "What did you say to him to him, Oneesan."

She then became infuriated, when her sister instead of answering her, just slid the screen and took a step.

'_How dare she_,' Hanabi thought as her own sister defiantly ignored a question in front of branch family members.

"I'll just ask Neji then. You know he'll tell me if I ask him." Although knowing it was petty, she then said, "Or I can ask your favorite servant. I bet he would love to see me again."

"Thank you."

Hanabi lost control of her face and allowed herself to look genuinely perplexed, which is the very feeling she always tries to hide whenever she's around her sister.

"I told him thank you for saving Ko from you…from us."

The younger sister then scoffed audibly, forgoing all acts of royal dignity. She wondered what her father would do in this situation. Having her authority challenged and arguing in front of branch families is, to say the least, disgraceful if not blasphemous.

Hanabi did not have time to ponder what actions she would have to take to remedy this situation as Hinata then spoke, "Hanabi-_sama_, the secret to the garden is harmony. No matter how hard you train, if you do not understand that key concept of balance then it is useless. If you really want to impress Otoosan, then I highly suggest you talk to Neji-niisan. He mastered _our_ treasured technique on his own, without the guide of the garden, and definitely without Otoosan's help."

This time, Hanabi needed to control her face else the shock of her sister's words would be etched like a curse seal upon her face. What bothered her the most, however, was how Hinata figured it out.

'_Did her Otoosan tell her?_'

Hanabi did not know it now, but what really ruffled her feathers was the fact that her sister may not be as weak as she thought.

She then looked up as she heard the sliding door close.

-/-

A hiding shinobi, jaded and angry, crouched in the shadows as his team entered Konoha. He watched with passing interest as the first three ninjas walked through the gates to be greeted by a host of smiling lords and guards. The remaining two ninja trailing in the rear, he gazed at with mixed emotions, most specifically the kunoichi.

His mind automatically returned to the event. He carried that shaking and crying kunoichi as she clung onto him, like a long lost lover finally reunited.

'_She lied to me_,' he thought very bitterly remembering the tactic she attempted to trick him into coming home.

'_They all lied to me, my friends I cannot believe—_'

Suddenly, Naruto heard a commotion just inside the walls of Konoha. A minor rustling from a tree, he was surprised to find a familiar face peering at his team. Watching her kind smile, unexpected moistness appeared in his stony eyes. How many times had he wished he could have seen her smile before he left home?

He knew he should just ignore her, like he planned to do, and kept telling himself over and over again.

And yet, Naruto could not help but stare at the girl his heart missed. He knew her pupil-less eyes were watching him and he could not ignore his old desire to see her. Familiar thoughts crept back into his consciousness, ones he used to fantasize about but bitterly repressed.

'_Maybe I should at least talk to her._'

That was all it took to undo weeks of convincing himself to forget about her.

He then vanished.

Hinata watched Naruto's team enter through the east gate. On top of a small hill just inside the main wall, which rose a little higher than the height of the border, she hid behind an old-large tree, one of the few to survive the blast from Pein's devastating technique.

She ignored the throbbing in her shin, from when she almost tripped on an exposed root, as she heard an unnatural rustling in the bushes.

Her attention snapped back however as Team 7 came close to the gate.

She watched smiling. The two in the back, one with short pink hair she knew to be Sakura and the other a boy similar to age with his bleach white skin must be Sai the newer member on the team. The two in the front with the elite Jounin rank flak jackets were his two captains Kakashi and Yamato. The former had silver hair and an eye patch, and the latter with short brown hair and a metal face guard which crowned his face.

Yet, the one she kept her eyes on she could describe him by heart. Blue sandals, orange and black jumpsuit, bright blue eyes, sun blond hair, and the smile she always cherished.

Watching the five shinobi enter Konoha, she felt nostalgic. How many times had she watched him leave and enter the city from other vantage points? Despite her actions, she always wished that he would notice her, disregarding the obstacles, as if he had a Byakugan of his own.

Lost in her thoughts, Hinata's heart pounded furiously when Naruto turned his head and peered directly into her eyes, smiled, and then winked at her.

She did not have time to react, however, because two hands covered her eyes while a tickling breath intimately mocked into her ear, "You can't see him."

'_No, not now!_' she thought to herself. Assuming it was just Kiba her teammate playing a trick on her again, as he often liked to do, especially when they were younger, she did waste any time on removing the hands, and just activated her Byakugan to see through it. It has been forever since she last saw Naruto and she did not want to miss him again.

Sadly, the boy and his team were already walking away behind a building, and even though Hinata could still see Naruto, he was no longer looking at her. She watched him anyway completely ignoring the benign hands covering her eyes as he was welcomed by a small host of people, probably lords. Hinata smiled as Naruto answered questions with his usual big grin becoming animated as he talked, rubbing the back of his head, and even blushing a little when one of the lords gave him a compliment.

She would have completely forgotten about her lack of normal vision had it not been for a new and pleasant sensation emanating around her eyes. Unbeknownst to her, the surge of extra blood to the area made the nerve endings extremely sensitive. She failed miserably to suppress an involuntary shudder as the interloping fingers minutely caressed along the exposed nerves. Not wanting to get lost to the tingling sensations, Hinata quickly thrust her face forward, tearing her head away from the hands.

As she raised her head up, Hinata exclaimed, "Na-Naruto-kun!"

Hinata then saw the same boy she was spying on earlier down the street. Similar looking with the same attire, hair, and of course eyes, nonetheless this Naruto seemed different. Hinata could not pin point the exact difference, but this one appeared…mature was not the right word, maybe aged or even wearied. She always thought of Naruto as a "warm" person, and it was easy to see when he always wore his heart on his sleeve, but the one in front of her seemed to keep his heart where it should be, and it gave her the impression of almost being cold. However, Hinata knew this was not true as his eyes bore into her, channeling all his usual warmth at one thing. It kept her unbalanced and frankly a little uncomfortable.

"Um, Hi, Hinata," he said with a tight smirk.

Relieved that at least his voice was the same, she ran to him and gave him a big hug, one worth three weeks of separation.

As she melted into him, Hinata felt her worries start to disappear. '_It's going to be alright,_' she thought. '_I can talk to him about it._'

In her reverie, she did not sense Naruto's rigid body, or the hesitant way in which he gingerly placed his arms around her shoulders.

"Uh, Hinata nice to see you too."

While the time passed, Naruto started to feel a little awkward. Before he could gently protest, Hinata pulled herself away quickly and turned around, facing the gate.

"Naruto-kun, you didn't have to send a clone. I would have been happy seeing you when you had some free time."

"Huh?"

"The clone. The last time you saw me it was just a clone." Hinata spoke softly referencing the time with him at the rice fields so long ago.

"Hinata," Naruto spoke tentatively, "I promise when I saw you at the hospital it wasn't one of my Kage Bunshin." He was truly perplexed and a little hurt. Why would she think that he would use a clone to see her?

She then turned around as she spoke, "No, not at the hospital, at the rice…" Hinata trailed off when her eyes met his. She could not detect any mirth, just bewilderment. She of all people knew Naruto could be a little dense, but he was not unfeeling.

Suddenly, it all clicked into place as the tiny wedge of hope gave way and the boulder of realization crushed her heart. Hinata turned away while doing her best to stifle tears.

'_He doesn't remember,_' she thought to herself too afraid she would cry if she said it aloud.

"Hinata…" Naruto had no idea what he did, or what was upsetting her. He usually put his hand on a friend's shoulder for reassurance, but this time his hand just hovered awkwardly above her jacket. In front of him was a girl, a friend in pain, and yet his heart told him not to bother. She was no friend of his.

Instead, he just mumbled an apology and carefully stepped backwards waiting for her to collect herself. As he cautiously watched her, Naruto failed to notice the exposed root which tripped Hinata earlier.

One minute he was watching the back of her head and the next he is on the ground with her kneeling right next to him.

"Naruto-kun, Naruto-kun are you okay!" Hinata frantically exclaimed.

Dazed, Naruto muttered a "yes" hoping to get her to stop yelling.

He then idly observed furious and determined movements over his left palm. When his gaze saw what she was fussing about he became annoyed. She was already putting ointment on his hand. Although a relatively deep gash, with his healing ability it would disappear soon without any treatment.

Naruto attempted to tell relay that fact while fighting the cobwebs in his head. "Hinata, you don't…it will heal…please…there's no…."

"Hinata!" Naruto all but yelled, yanking his hand from hers.

Looking into his eyes, she saw something that has never been directed at her before from her childhood love: anger.

Naruto watched as she hid her pupil-less eyes behind her bangs.

"Na-na-ru-to-kun-I…" Naruto listened dumbfounded as she kept muttering. It seemed like she was trying to apologize but he was still dazed.

Fortunately, his head cleared as he saw Hinata walking away from him.

"Hinata, wait!" Naruto demanded. She kept going.

He then grabbed her hand, not feeling the way it shuddered against his touch, and said, "Please wait, Hinata. I'm sorry."

Naruto felt her hand slacken against his yet she did not look at him.

"Truth is, I was going to get some ramen and I wanted to invite you. My treat."

As Naruto waited for Hinata's response, the dichotomous part of him wondered why he even bothered to talk to her in the first place.

"O-okay, Naruto-kun," she finally said. "When am I going to meet the real you?"

"What?" he replied confused.

"How soon am I meeting "you" there? I don't eat with clones."

'_What is it with you and my Kage Bunshins?_' Naruto thought genuinely annoyed.

"Hinata, it's me."

Seeing the incredulous look she gave him, Naruto then outstretched his palm. He saw her eyes widen when she realized that the gash already closed.

"Unless I give specific orders to a Kage Bunshin to not vanish when injured, they will generally disappear even if it's just a scratch because it saves chakra."

"Then what about the Naruto I saw entering Konoha?" Hinata said bewildered.

Naruto then sighed, "He's the clone. Kakashi-sensei told me that they were having a festival for the restoration of Konoha, and also for my deeds. They wanted to welcome me as soon as I got in, but I didn't want to…" Naruto trailed off closing his mind to it.

"I'm confused, Naruto-kun. Isn't that part of your dream? Didn't you want everyone to acknowledge your existence?"

Seeing the unhappiness in his eyes, Hinata saw that this was not a new development, and in fact it seemed that Naruto has been struggling with this even before he got here.

He then surprised her when he said, "Ramen, first, please," holding his out his again.

Although extremely difficult, Hinata ignored the shallow gesture and instead, walked passed Naruto heading towards Ichiraku's. When Naruto caught up, she kept stealing glances at him wondering who this boy was and what happened to "her" Naruto.

Unbeknown to Hinata, Naruto already went through this about her. He used ponder the same thing, torturing himself for the last few weeks, on a mission far away from home. Now, his heart was closed, and he wanted to get some answers from the girl, no the only person he thought he could fully trust, as to why she betrayed him.

-/-/-

Things were still awkward at Ichiraku Ramen. Even rebuilt, it was little more than a kitchen, counter-top, and bar stools. Yet, it was always Naruto's favorite place to go, or so it was said, but Hinata could not tell.

At first everything was fine. After a heartwarming greeting from Ichiraku they, sat down to eat, but before they could dig into their food, a few bypassing villagers asked him for his autograph. Hinata thought it would cheer him up, but the hooded look he gave showed otherwise. A tense silence ensued and it was not until the man said it was for his son that Naruto acquiesced. Soon, however, word spread and a small army of people formed a line to meet him. They told Naruto all kinds of heartwarming lines, words that she herself would have loved to hear. However, Hinata noticed that each compliment seemed to wound him, something she was very familiar with when her own father used to berate her with insults. The only time he ever saw Naruto genuinely happy to give an autograph was when it was asked by a child. It was only then that his old warmth returned and he would become animated, often telling the children that they can grow up to become strong like him too. Unfortunately, those instances were few and far between and it even came to the point where he was just signing paper not even bothering to smile or acknowledge their presence.

Hinata became very relieved as Ichiraku himself, sensing his best customer's obvious unhappiness, kicked everyone out telling all the flatterers that he was closed. When the onlookers complained, he reminded them that Naruto was going to be doing a meet-and-greet in fifteen minutes in the main part of town, and that they should give the hero a chance to eat first. (This was all true but they did not know it was Naruto's clone that would be there instead).

Afterwards, Ichiraku excused himself when he realized that Naruto was not yet in the mood to eat. Hinata did not miss the fleeting look he gave her which meant, "You're his friend. Help him."

Both lost in their own private thoughts, she hardly touched her now luke-warm ramen bowl. When she looked over she was surprised – to say the least – that his looked like hers.

'_This is not good,_' she thought.

"Naruto-kun," she quietly asked, "is everything okay?"

"Huh, oh yea…"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Hinata waited a long thirty seconds for his answer. When it was obvious that he was not listening, she started blaming herself.

'_He probably wants to be alone._' She thought dejected. Then her old instincts of self doubt kicked in, '_Maybe he just doesn't want me around._'

"Na-Naruto-kun, maybe it would be be-better if I leave?"

Accepting his silence as a definitive yes, she quickly paid her bill and left the stall. Taking a few hesitant steps, glanced back through the swaying flap and watched Naruto while he stared languidly into his untouched bowl.

When the curtain closed, and she could not see him anymore, the obstacle between them triggered a painful memory.

'_A wall of people_,' she thought, '_around him, watching him, talking about him, laughing, and spreading rumors_.' She saw Naruto sitting on a swing, hiding in the shadows, rejected and alone with a depressed face unlike the one she saw now.

'_And I did nothing_.'

Galvanized, she reminded herself that even if he does not remember their time at the rice field, then he must recall visiting her in the hospital. She promised him that she would always be there as a friend, and just like Naruto, she would be damned if she ever went back on her words!

Naruto jarred out of his own memories when he felt a soft but firm hand on his shoulder. Looking to his left, he could see his companion looking intently at him.

"Talk to me," was all she said.

"I don't know, honestly…I mean I don't know why it bothers me," was Naruto's deflated reply.

"Well, let's start with why you're here with me instead of being acknowledged by the villagers with your team?"

"It's stupid, really," Naruto said with a slight smirk.

"It's not if that's the way you feel," Hinata replied. How many times while growing up had she wished that someone would have told her that. It was okay to cry, to feel sad. Just by having a friend who cared, it could have stopped her cycle of doubt and low confidence.

Naruto noticed how the grip on his shoulder never eased, even a little bit.

Sighing, he gently patted her hand immediately followed by a little grin.

He was about to confess, to bear everything to the one who hurt him the most, until he heard his past calling for him.

"Uzumaki Naruto, I know you're in there. Come out and face your rival!"

"Oh no, not now," Naruto muttered.

Hinata, seeing that he was truly worried frantically asked him, "Naruto-kun, are you okay?"

"Orioke no jutsu!" the voice outside yelled.

"Stay here," Naruto commanded. Despite being curious, Hinata could not help but listen to his demand.

Sensing danger, she tried to peek through the moving screen, but there was no sign of Naruto or the interloper.

Then she heard, "_Baka_, what are you doing?"

"Oh come on, don't you think I look absolutely cute?" Hinata heard a very sultry voice.

"Not here, not now!" She heard Naruto whisper desperately.

"Why? I haven't seen you in so long and you didn't even say bye to me before you left," said the seductively whiny voice.

"You're not with "monster girl" are you?" The voice suddenly squeaked in absolute terror.

"No, I'm not with Sakura."

"Then what's the big deal?"

Hinata was too curious for her own good. Ignoring Naruto's command, she went outside to investigate and maybe even lend some aid.

"Eeeeepp!"

Both persons whipped their heads around at the unexpected squeak.

Naruto, horrified, asked her, "Hinata, are you okay?"

"Naruto-oniichan, I thought this technique only worked on men."

The look he gave his rival shut "her" up quickly.

Confused, Hinata did her best to control her breathing as well as a new and unfamiliar feeling in her stomach. She closed her eyes which helped to steady her but did nothing to stifle the unknown sensation in her core.

At least somewhat under control, she decided to face the danger.

Unfortunately, she was greeted by two sets of mahogany eyes as the girl with Naruto treated Hinata to her full glory.

Like a trapped deer suddenly found by a hunter, Hinata froze too paralyzed to even run away.

"Hello!" the young girl said. She then winked, and as she did, Hinata noticed how her oversized breasts bounced unnaturally from such a minuscule action.

"Huh?" Was all she could murmur. Becoming weak in the knees, Hinata fell over into a lap of orange.

"Konohamaru, will you change back already!" Naruto yelled.

Head being cradled, she looked up into blue irises. Never being able to resist him, Hinata finally fainted.

-/-/-/-

"…no the technique wasn't bad. It was actually better than last time. You've improved."

'_What is going on, where am I?_' Hinata thought dreamily.

"Yea, I'm working on the dimensions. She's still not as sexy as yours though."

'_Sexy dimensions?' _

"No, your dimensions are about right. Your problem is actually _the look_." Hinata heard some laughing followed by, "What? It's true. It does not matter how sexy the body is if _the look_ cannot seduce him. Think about it."

'_Are they talking about that overly pretty girl who I saw naked?_'

"Oniichan…I guess it makes sense. I think, though, that you take this whole seducing men thing a little too far."

'_Oniichan? Naruto does not have any siblings that I know of._'

"Look who's talking! You have been trying to seduce _me_ ever since I met you!"

"Yea, with _your _technique! One of these days, I'm going to transform into a girl so sexy that besides defeating you, everyone will acknowledge me as your superior."

"Superior in perversion, that's fine with me, Squirt!"

"Yea, but they will all know that you were my sensei. You can be the new _Ero-Sennin_."

"Hey! Don't call me that."

"Okay, _Ero-nii_."

Hinata then heard loud raucous laughter quickly followed by lots of shameless slurping.

"But seriously, do you always need to do that technique whenever you see me?"

"You started it, Oniichan, and don't act all innocent either since you're the creator of Harem no Jutsu. At the very least, I never showed "my girl" to a Hokage. But then again, Ojiichan was Jiraiya-jiichan's sensei, so I guess it makes sense how he was susceptible to the jutsu."

'_Harem no jutsu? Naruto created a technique similar or more powerful than the naked girl? And it defeated a hokage?'_

Hinata opened her eyes. She immediately noticed that she was back inside the ramen stall. Back against the wall, her legs were propped-up and casually held. Not yet fully awake, she just listened.

"Don't give me that look Oniichan. It's because of your sexy technique that Jiraiya-jiichan took you on as your apprentice."

"That's true I guess."

The feeling in Hinata's stomach came back with a vengeance.

"Also, I would never have trained as hard if you did not defeat Ebisu-sensei. But then again, I don't think there's a single male ninja in the five great countries that wouldn't be defeated by mass clones of that signature sexy-blond bombshell of yours."

"Oh, shut up."

Hinata stopped paying attention to assess her situation. She idly heard talking mixed in with dishes clanking and lots of belching.

'_Okay_, _so I went outside. I saw Naruto-kun arguing with an absurdly gorgeous, not to mention naked, girl. After she surprised me, I essentially fainted._'

Hinata was upset with herself that she did not stay conscious. _'So that girl really was a boy, and he developed this jutsu because of Naruto?'_

As Hinata tried to make logic of her recent experience, the churning in her gut intensified instead of getting better. _'Naruto, the original creator of this perverted jutsu, used it to seduce one of the Legendary Sannin. That's how he convinced Jiraiya-sama to become his master?'_

Hinata was dumbfounded. She noticed that the monster in her stomach became virtually uncontrollable, but she could not stop her line of thinking. Believing logic would be her salvation, she kept chimerically following the train of thoughts.

'_This same jutsu was so powerful that it defeated "the" elite Jounin teacher Ebisu-sensei? Impossible…but then the boy said that it also defeated the Sandaime Hokage. No way! Sarutobi-sama was known as the "Professor" because he mastered so many techniques, and is also considered one of the most powerful ninjas in history. Yet, he was defeated by a young Naruto because he transformed into a sexy girl_?'

That was the breaking point.

Before she could prepare herself – or even open her eyes – an uncensored sound escaped from her lips. Sounding like a mouse being chased by a hungry piggy, wave after wave of squeaks and snorts escaped from her belly.

Both Naruto and his sidekick in perversion Konohamaru immediately looked at the girl they thought was sleeping to their right. Doubled over, clutching her stomach, if it were not for the sounds she was making, they would have thought that she was in excruciating pain.

Hinata could not stop herself from laughing maniacally. It was as if there was a being inside her, tickling her and eating away all her shyness. Tears streaming from her eyes, the first thing she noticed when her vision cleared, were piles and piles of ramen bowls. As she looked left, Hinata saw two "twins" – one blond and one brown haired – staring at her with wide eyes and mouth full of ramen.

Reminding her of chipmunks, more stifled squeaks filled the small space. Hinata turned her head to the right to get rid of the image, but it stayed in her mind's eye. Trying to get a hold of herself, she then pivoted her body to the left, but forgot Naruto was holding her legs. She snorted a laugh while falling towards the ground.

However, she did not hit the floor, and instead, felt a firm pressure on the nape of her neck. Looking into the face of the blond squirrel, she kept laughing as Naruto tried to mumble something with a mouth full of ramen and worried eyes. On top of it all, Hinata could not tear her eyes away from a taunting noodle on his whisker mark as it danced precariously to the rhythm of his mouth.

It was not until Naruto gently sat Hinata back up on the stool that she finally calmed down. The demon inside her was completely exorcised, only when the comical chipmunks disappeared as the boys swallowed their food.

A tense silence ensued where Hinata felt the two boys boring into her soul. Purposefully avoiding their gazes, she already knew what they were thinking.

'_Weirdo, misfit, strange, odd…'_ Hinata vividly remembered those same looks as they were forever burned into her soul from her father and more recently her sister.

Feeling sorry for herself, she even recalled the leering stares of some of the branch family members.

'_Pushover, weakling…_'

Naruto watched conflicted as his friend bit her quivering lip. Despite Hinata's watering eyes, he still hesitated, torn in inaction. He would later recall that he would have let her cry had it not been for Konohamaru's interjection.

"Hey, Oniichan, was she laughing at us?"

Naruto watched as Hinata turned her head towards them with a perplexed look on her face.

Offhandedly, he answered, "Yea, but don't you prefer that to her being angry with us?"

"Or hitting us," was Konohamaru's sly reply.

Gesturing his rival and all-but-blood younger brother to pass him a bowl, Naruto reflexively caught the sliding noodle dish just as it arrived in front of Hinata.

Feeling something soft on his hand, his eyes became locked with hers. Naruto did not even notice the scalding heat in his palm, nor the soft lingers of Hinata's fingers. Lost in the moment, there was something important he wanted to remember. Discreetly scanning her pale eyes, it was not a specific event he was trying to recall but a feeling he needed to explore.

"And I love…er, I mean I would love to hear her laugh at us rather than cry any day." Not tearing his eyes away, Naruto casually said, "Wouldn't _you_ agree?"

"Yea, Oneechan, you can laugh at Naruto-oniichan all you want. Trust me, it's fun!"

"Baka, you've only just met her and already you're flirting!"

"No, I mean it. And don't be jealous, Oniichan, because I know she's your girlfriend."

Breaking the trance, both Naruto and Hinata yanked their hands away from the bowl.

Oblivious to his companions awkwardness, Konohamaru ceremoniously exclaimed, "Itadakimasu!" and dug noisily into his food.

Hinata inconspicuously watched Naruto eat his ramen; building momentum until his ferocity matched that of his younger brother. In no time at all, both Naruto and Konohamaru were chatting away.

She was surprised that it was Konohamaru that tried to include her in their private conversations, often asking for her opinion. Shyly, she either quipped a quick but unsatisfying reply, or just stammered until she looked away embarrassed. Usually, people would just leave her alone after that and ignore her. However, the young boy would not let her be, and instead, incessantly included her in the conversation as much as possible.

It was not until the jokes and insults ensued between Konohamaru and Naruto that she finally caved in. Hesitantly laughing at first, once she realized that she was not being judged, she allowed herself to enjoy their company.

Recognizing the growl in her stomach, Hinata took a sip of her now cold broth. Hinata was genuinely surprised as she liked the bowl she was eating from, and interestingly, she relished in the fact that the food for her soul tasted divine.

-/-/-/-/-

'_A moment of weakness; that's all it was_,' Naruto thought to himself bitterly. While all of them were laughing and enjoying their meal, he remembered Hinata asking if he was planning on going to the festival tonight.

Before he could respond, Konohamaru had answered for him, "Yea, of course he is! We all know this festival is in honor of him!"

Trapped between the pleading and exciting looks from his younger brother, and the…well he did not know what kind of look Hinata was giving him, Naruto realized his resolve was broken even before he could build it. He agreed to go.

Through the swaying flaps, Naruto spied Konohamaru and Hinata, virtually joined at the hip, as they walked away. He watched her ruffle Konohamaru's hair and then place her hand around his shoulder. He saw her kind smile and the way it seemed to brighten Naruto's day a little, even though it was not intended for him.

He tried to convince himself to be careful, that she was no better than a snake, no worse actually, because she toyed with his emotions. On the other hand, he could not ignore the sincerity of her actions, and especially the way he felt earlier. Hinata's mere presence had a soothing effect on his soul, and it drew Naruto towards her even when his head screamed for him to leave her alone.

'_I need to talk to her_,' he said resolved.

When the flap closed and the sound of rustling paper brought his attention back to reality, Naruto did not realize that he was already standing, seemingly ready to catch up to her else he would miss his chance again like weeks ago.

Sitting back at the bar, he never saw Hinata wave to him, hesitating to leave even as Konohamaru tugged on her hand.

Unfortunately, as Naruto stared at the check, the problems he hid from abruptly appeared as an unstoppable wave. All the memories of his now dispersed clone came back to him, and like an unhappy mob, they dunned him for attention.

Ichiraku immediately became worried as his best customer groaned into his hands. He was planning on treating Naruto, but with the reconstruction costs he could not afford to splurge on seven stacks of ramen bowls.

'_He could always pay me back later_,' Ichiraku thought, '_or even wash dishes for me_.'

However, it was not the extra zeroes on the bill that bothered Naruto, but the myriad of smiling faces that appeared suddenly in his mind, and like sycophantic wolves they all tore pieces from him.

'_Poor guy_,' thought Ichiraku as he watched Naruto put his now deflated _Gama-chan_ back into his pocket.

'_I wonder if he'll have enough money to enjoy himself at the festival.'_

He then thought about the Hyuuga girl, and although he could count the number of times a member of one of the royal families ate at his establishment, on his stirring hand, he knew all of them had money.

'_By the way she acted around him; I bet she would help him out._'

Ichiraku then turned around to tackle the insurmountable pile of dishes. Putting two stacks into the sink, he put his mind at ease as he thought, '_Yes, she will definitely take care of him_.'

-/-/-/-/-/-

Naruto looked into the mirror in his "room," or the new quarters given to him since his old one was reduced to rubble by Pein's attack. He considered it home as much as he would his Konoha-issued bedroll for use on long missions. Sparsely decorated and bare to the point of a monk's taste, the only possession from his former apartment was an old wooden trunk. Found buried under the wreckage, the rescue volunteers knew it was Naruto's due to his signature swirl branded on the anterior wood.

In the chest, he only kept his most precious but practically useless items, almost all of the possessions once belonging to his parents. Pieces of a puzzle stripped from him, he kept them as the last link to his deceased family.

Taking two items out, he studied one in the mirror. A _Yukata_, baby blue and littered with orange patterns of his trademark swirl-designs, it also had a large ochreous symbol of his country of fire emblazoned the back. Judging by the style and color, he thought it could have been his mother's kimono, but it fit him pretty well so maybe it belonged to his father. Having not known them, he quickly and bitterly put his fantasizing to an end.

If the kimono was an enigma to a history lost, then the second item was its opposite. Although not once belonging to his parents, the object was a poignant and painful reminder nonetheless. Laying face down on a near by table, he stared at its white plaster with bloody specks of paint.

The thing was the reason why he hated going to festivals as a kid, and subsequently the same reason he did not want to go tonight. Yet, disregarding the painful memories, Naruto was surprisingly calm if not a little elated to wear it.

As Naruto waited for his two companions to arrive, he looked out into the night sky. Despite the warm summer evening, he was amazed to see an opaque blanket of clouds above him. Sporadic lamps illuminated random streets, turning certain alleyways adumbral.

Naruto noticed a pulsing cerulean light slowly coming towards him somewhere below. When the source of the glow emerged from the nebulous corridor, Naruto was temporarily blinded as the last vestiges of the day disappeared into his eyes.

Once his pupils dilated sufficiently to the night, he was dumbfounded to see the luminous blue object directly below him. Partially covered by the darkness cast by the balcony, Naruto had to bend over the guard to see it. It reminded him of something important, but he could not place his finger on it.

"Hey Naruto-oniichan, what are you doing?" a familiar voice said curiously.

Startled, Naruto lost his balance and fell over the railing, barely catching the last rung after a painful summersault.

Hearing the commotion from above, the girl looked up shining her silvery-lavender eyes at him.

_'Hinata!_' Following the glint, Naruto's gaze inadvertently lowered into her cleavage. He realized quickly that the thing was some kind of jewel, and then tore his face away abashed.

_'Did she see me look?_' He thought as he dropped down in front of her.

"Na-Naruto-kun…" Hinata said as she shyly turned away.

'_I guess she did_,' Naruto thought turning red. "Uh…Hinata…um, it's not what you think."

Seeing her adjust her kimono, Naruto took it as a sign that she was upset with him. Turning around to avoid worse embarrassment, he instead found more trouble.

"Naruto-oniichan," Konohamaru said, "what did you do to Oneechan!"

"Um, it was an accident..."

"That you were staring at her breasts?"

"I thought I saw something."

"I bet you did, Ero-nii."

"Whatever, squirt. You've been the one flirting with her the entire time."

"At least I wasn't peeping! Shame on you…you've been holding back on me." Hinata heard his voice actually crack. "What did Jiraiya-jiji _really_ teach you?"

The two of them went at it for a few good minutes. Once Hinata calmed herself, and knowing the two of them could argue the night away if not intervened on, she maternally grabbed both their arms and led them away to the festival.

Gently wiggling out of her stern but caring grasp, Naruto said, "Oh wait, you two go on ahead. I forgot something."

Naruto caught up with his friends right before they could enter the festival grounds.

"What took you so long? Were you doing something naughty while thinking of Hinata-oneechan?"

Hinata blushed.

Ignoring the verbal jab, Naruto simply said, "I had to get my mask."

"Oh, let me see!"

"How about both of you show me yours first."

There is a tradition in a new year's festival where people wear masks depicting a diabolic act or monster on them. By wearing it, the person is effectively hidden from the evil and protected for the upcoming year.

Naruto scoffed when Konohamaru showed him his _Noh_ mask.

"Baka, are you going to be in a play? This is a festival!"

"Whatever, Ero-nii, even though the theme is "new beginnings" it is not actually the new year."

"Naruto-kun," he heard Hinata chime in softly, "the masks are optional. The point is to have fun, right?"

"So what's yours?"

Hinata put hers on. The face of a black and white cat, it matched her Hyuuga eyes perfectly.

"Hinata, you're scared of cats?" Naruto asked hoping he was not the only one following tradition.

"Well…no I just think it's cute."

Both boys laughed at her expense.

"And, I-I wa-wanted to wear something cute since my _Houmongi_ is…well..."

"I was wondering why you were wearing an old woman's kimono," Konohamaru bluntly stated. A swift slap to the back of his head from Naruto and he quickly apologized.

Hinata just smiled. "It belonged to Okaasan. Otoosan gave it to me claiming that it was her favorite one to wear during evening celebrations, but I don't know if that was true. Even though we Hyuuga typically wear modest clothing, I remember Okaasan always wearing beautiful kimonos."

Naruto then studied her _Houmongi_ more closely. Having seen numerous kimonos in bathhouses or around brothels, on his training with Ero-Sennin, Naruto could immediately tell by the shine of the silk that her kimono was very expensive. Mostly indigo in color, it was intricately laced with expensive black designs. The only bright part of her attire, on her otherwise pitchy dress, was her ivory _Obi_ around her waste.

'_Why is it so dark?_' Naruto then noticed that her mother's kimono fit Hinata perfectly, and that it actually looked cute on her in a dark and dreary kind of way.

Catching him studying her, and fighting her spreading blush, Hinata quickly broke his reverie by saying, "Naruto-kun, what about your mask?"

"Oh yea," Naruto said dreading this moment. Despite his smile, he still hesitantly turned around and put it on. When he faced his companions again, he laughed when they both gasped audibly.

The mask Naruto wore was that of a demon fox. Menacing, it was beautifully painted to depict all its malice, anger, and destruction. Every detail was done in virtual flawlessness, from its cruel yet smiling white teeth to the vibrant fur on its cheeks.

Nine tails fanned out, from a focal point at the top of the mask, haphazardly down around the face. Meant to depict an unnatural force of nature, the tails were drawn as eye catchers. This was done by having the background, directly around each tail, be distorted and almost unrecognizable. Each tail-end pierced the ground, planting itself in the once serene and beautiful village of Konoha. Razed buildings, corpses, or piles of bloodied Hitai-itai's littered what one could assume to be the ground, but it was debatable since the supposed soil was crimson and flowing like a river.

In the background, at an oasis of peaceful Evergreen trees, one man defied the cataclysm around him. So far in the distance, an admirer could only make out the golden color his hair and the white of his cloak. However, the trees and the man were only a minor mole painted on the cheek, for the true mastery of the art was seen when one looked the wearer in the eyes.

The artist centered everything around the user so that when a person looked at his eyes, the totality of the carnage was thrust into her face. Its aim was to invoke fear similar to that of actually seeing the Kyuubi itself. The only blemish to the masterpiece was a large copper stain around the mouth. If it was red paint it would have helped the scene nicely, but because it was just dried blood it only darkened the color a little bit.

Looking to each other for support, Hinata asked first. "Naruto-kun, why are you wearing _that _mask?"

"Why not," Naruto answered elated. He was surprised that at how easy it was to keep his tone light.

"Bu-but, Naruto-kun, nobody else…" Hinata trailed off at a complete loss for words.

"I like it," Konohamaru blurted out with a smile. "It's really cool looking. Where did you get it?"

"Here, a long time ago."

"How, was it expensive?"

"Some guy gave it to me, and yes its cost was high…"

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata started to say, but when Naruto snapped his head towards her she had to turn away.

Laughing, Naruto then said, "Plus, nobody would ever guess it was me behind the mask!" '_They never have before._' "It's a fool proof disguise."

'_You're wrong_,' Hinata thought sadly.

"Naruto-oniichan, why do you want to avoid the people?"

Instead of replying, Naruto just ran past them into the limelight of the festival.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Hinata was wrong. Catching up to Naruto as he approached the first food stall, she immediately noticed the crowd's shocked faces. Yet, even though she saw people gape at him, or obviously talk behind his back, Naruto was either oblivious to their insulting actions or just plain did not care.

When a disgruntled onlooker confronted Naruto, Hinata became surprised, astounded even, when Naruto approached the man and his entourage and just struck up a casual conversation with them.

He then he ran to the next food stall. Getting caught up in the exciting energy, she saw Konohamaru immediately join him. Not really having a choice, she just followed them.

The trio toured the festival grounds at a frenzied pace. Lost in her own thoughts, she would have been a third-wheel had it not been for Konohamaru who never left his new sister's side. Whenever she would trail behind to study the enigma that was Naruto, Konohamaru would look behind him and excitedly wave her back up to the duo.

They stopped at several stalls where they sampled delights such as yakitori, onigiri, and dango. In between food stops, Naruto and Konohamaru played games. Hinata could not stifle a laugh as she watched both boys fail miserably at catching a fish with a rice-paper net.

During a rare moment when she had time to think, while waiting in line for the lottery game, Hinata wondered why they did not run into any of their friends yet. Masks aside, both Naruto and she should be able to spot them in a crowd.

'_Could Naruto be avoiding them?_' The paranoid thought just popped into her head.

With the astounding atmosphere around her, not to mention all the fun her companions were having, a big part of Hinata wanted nothing more than to mentally blind herself and just get caught up in the festive mood. Closing her eyes, she listened to his heart-warming laugh, almost convincing herself that "her" Naruto was next to her smiling and offering his hand.

Hinata then opened her eyes and studied him more closely. It was maddening, watching the dichotomy of Naruto's frivolous actions and the ambience around him, against the Armageddon that was on his face.

'_It's just like the curse seal_,' sudden realization hit her with such impact that even while Naruto had his hand in the lottery basket; he still looked back at her.

When the attendant hesitantly gave Naruto his prize, Hinata watched as he intently regarded the plush doll.

Seeing how cute it was, Hinata wished that Naruto would give it to her, but he surprised her instead when he nonchalantly tossed the plushy somewhere into the shadows.

Hinata would have retrieved it had he and Konohamaru not already bolted away to their next stop.

Gaining on the two, she idly wondered, '_If the mask is like the curse seal, then who's activating the jutsu; who's hurting him?_'

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

It was during their third stop, where they decided to take a break at a cafe, that Hinata found herself alone.

Remembering that they went to get some drinks, she absentmindedly picked at her dango, not really tasting it but just eating it to give her something to do.

"Here you go," she heard Naruto's voice.

"Where's Konohamaru?" Hinata asked.

"Oh, he'll be back. He ran into some of his friends and is just catching up.

"Okay," she replied softly. She did not know if Naruto heard her or not since the ambient noise around them made it hard to hear, much less think. Usually, Hinata would be thrilled to be alone with Naruto, yet all she could do was stare at her dango.

"Hey, Hinata?"

"Yes, Naruto-kun?" She reflexively looked up but immediately looked away again once she looked into his eyes.

"Relax, Hinata," not missing the irritation in his voice, "it's just a mask. Plus I wanted to ask you something."

"It's not the mask…"

"I know."

A few agonizing minutes passed in cacophonous silence. Although keeping her eyes on her food, every ounce of her was focused on the boy in front of her. She wished that he would ask to talk to her in private and finally open up to her so she could take his pain away, or at the very least, understand what was going on with him.

Hinata also knew that she could be the one to instigate the important conversation they both wanted to have with each other. She could grab his hand, take Naruto for a walk away from the festival, and remove his mask. However, something, some obstacle, was preventing her from taking the initiative.

'_It's just my lack of self-confidence,_' she thought to herself while staring at her dango.

Later that night, while she lay sleepless in her bed, Hinata would realize that it was not her usual weakness that prevented her from confronting Naruto.

It was fear.

Abruptly, Naruto got up.

"Naruto-kun, where are you going?"

"Don't worry, Hinata," he chirped happily, "I'll be back soon. I wanted to get you something, and, uh, don't worry, because I think you'll like it. Oh, and I'll get you more punch."

Before she could reply, Naruto left.

Hinata sighed at the sugar-coated ball in front of her. '_At least we'll have some time to talk eventually_.'

A few minutes passed where the untouched dessert sat triumphantly on her plate.

Hinata looked up when she felt a presence sit in front of her.

"Naruto-kun, what did…" Her eyes widened when she realized it was not him.

"Hiya, Hinata! Wait, did you say Naruto? I've been looking for him everywhere."

"Kiba-kun, he's not here. He we…went to get me something," Hinata replied softly.

"Oh, so you and Naruto, eh? It sure took him long enough. Only the poor girl who would fall in love with Naruto would have to resort to almost dying for him to finally get his attention."

"Kiba-kun…" Hinata whined at her friend's playful teasing. Since they were teammates, Hinata learned to take it with a _grain-of-salt_, however, she did not want to talk about Naruto and she's supposed relationship, especially since he was supposed to come back.

"Where's Akamaru?" Hinata deflected the conversation to Kiba and she's favorite canine companion.

"He's at home." She then heard him exasperate, "Do you want him?"

Hinata looked at her teammate like he was crazy for even joking about giving away his treasured dog.

"What? He's always nice to you. He's been grumpy lately, and honestly I think he's reached the age where he wants to find a mate. I constantly have to make sure he does not pee on people, especially since I taught him the _Dynamic Marking Technique_. Can you imagine the mayhem if I brought him here?"

Naruto heard two unique sounds over the dissonant voices around him. One, sounding like a snorting mouse, and the other he knew to be Kiba's laugh due to its underlying arrogance, Naruto used his shinobi skills to observe them.

"…remember how we all met at my place? I didn't tell you at the time but we needed you because you are the only person he has always behaved around. You're mere presence distracts and keeps him calm. In fact, if I didn't know any better, I swear that he was in love with you."

Naruto breathed in and out heavily. Fighting the tears, he instead cursed himself for being naïve enough to be betrayed twice.

"…it would have worked too had the monster not run away before we could maneuver you into position."

Hinata turned around when she heard a glass break.

"Naruto-kun!" She yelled. "I'm sorry, Kiba-kun, but I have to go."

"Wa-wait, Hinata…" But she was already gone.

'_How did she know it was Naruto?_' Kiba thought confused.

The only thing he saw in the pile of broken glass was a small plushy heart.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Hinata searched frantically for Naruto, but she was severely hampered while weaving through the crowd. The loud music and glaring lights only added to her rising anxiety.

Suddenly, Hinata became quiescent as all the noise abruptly ended. Disoriented, it was not until she heard a booming voice, accompanied by a shuffling of people towards the stage, that she continued her search.

"Hello citizens of the Fire Country! As most of you know, we are celebrating the newly rebuilt Konoha. Are you all having fun?" Hinata barely listened to the emcee as he built up the crowd's excitement.

"…also, it is the emergence of our very hero Uzumaki Naruto. As such, we would like to invite him to the stage to give a few words. Come on, Naruto-san, we know you're here."

Intuition told Hinata that this something very bad for him. Byakugan activated, her search became desperate. Unfortunately, she had to contend with the newly formed mob as they also hunted for him. As if fighting a wave, Hinata was pushed and tossed until she accidentally found reprieve at the boundary of the festival, far away from the stage.

"You caught me!" Hinata looked at the stage, knowing it was too late. Worried and confused, Hinata approached the platform never taking her eyes off of him.

'_Something's not right,_' Hinata thought. Little nuances, she knew from a lifetime of watching him that, '_the dimensions are off_.'

This Naruto was a tiny bit shorter, blonde hair not as wild or spiky, and his eyes were obviously one shade too dark. As she stared, "Naruto" then glanced at her, winked, and mouthed, "Oneechan.".

"Konohamaru!" Hinata whispered.

Strength rejuvenated, she quickly scanned the faces of the people around her wishing to find him. However, as time went by, Hinata started to lose hope. Trying to gain a new perspective, she instead spent a few minutes pondering today's events.

Staring at a bush outside the lights of the festival, she thought about the plushy heart and how, despite the intense way he regarded it, just threw it away into the night.

'_There was a trash can right next to him._'

She then remembered how she felt when she first saw Naruto that day, even while his hands covered her eyes.

'_You can't see him_,' she suddenly recalled his words now realizing that they were more than just a mocking phrase.

Hinata gasped, knowing where she had to go.

Tentatively, she put her hand into the shadows, fighting the stygian shiver as it caressed its way up her spine. Steeling herself, she ran into the night to find the boy she loves.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Walking towards him, the only sound that invaded the tranquility of the night was the _clack-clack_ of the _Geta_ on her feet.

Naruto made no sounds, not even as Hinata watched him idly push back and forth on the swing, a slow moving silhouette upon the void of the night. How many times had she watched him sitting on that very same swing, hanging from an old tree, next to the Konoha ninja academy? How she desperately wanted to be able to see him!

She then gasped when Naruto lifted his head and she looked into his intensely clear eyes.

"Still afraid of my mask, Hinata?" Naruto asked.

"Not the one in your hands," she replied shyly but pointedly.

He then smiled, not the special one that warmed her heart, but the one she knew Naruto gave to his enemies as a sign of respect. Hinata could not shake the feeling that he thought of her as that, and cautiously approached him on that assumption.

"What's going on, Naruto-kun?" Hinata said as she carefully kneeled in front of him.

"Nothing," he said. "Why do you even care?"

"You know that I do." She replied.

"Do I?"

"Naruto-kun, what's going on?" Hinata spoke firmly with all the concern in her heart. "What's wrong?"

"This," Naruto said and tossed the mask in front of her.

Picking it up, the lack of light did nothing to assuage the heavy burden she felt when holding it.

"Where did you get this?" Hinata asked tentatively.

"Are you sure you want to hear this? I mean do you actually care because…"

"Naruto-kun," she said softly too absorbed in her friend's pain to feel the insult.

"Fine, I warned you, Hinata."

Naruto took a deep breath. "When I was younger…"As Naruto told his story, Hinata listened to the words vividly imagining them in her head.

In her mind's eye she saw a younger Naruto. Very similar to Konohamaru's personality, if not a little more extreme, she remembered a brazened obnoxiously-rude boy with his even louder orange and blue jumpsuit and goggles he used to wear before he graduated from the academy.

Through the eyes of the preteen, she could see the lights of the festival and hear the excitement of the crowd around him; new, wondrous, and vivid images as the boy wandered the streets. His bubbling excitement was hardly contained while he wanted to do and eat everything, wishing he could be everywhere at once.

Yet, as the boy tried to sample the food or play games he was brusquely turned away. Some even went so far as to throw objects and meals at him.

Doing her best to avoid the barrage, Hinata flinched when she felt scalding oil burn her back.

Suddenly, her avatar was gone and instead Hinata became fully immersed in Naruto's story. She imagined herself wandering the festival grounds lost and terrified. Hinata maneuvered around tall legs, and those bodies she was too slow to dodge roughly pushed her aside, often with enough force that her knees and even her face scraped against the ground.

One particular moment when she felt too weak to get up, she found herself surrounded by people. It was then, that she truly felt despair. It was not the cuts, scrapes, or even the food in her hair that bothered her for she was always treated that way. No, what hurt her most, what almost destroyed her soul were the looks of the "innocent" bystanders. She watched the children, peers no different than her, hide behind their parents. They in turn held their young back, protecting them from her – the beaten, ugly, and unwanted child on the ground.

Envious, she looked at the adults, the children's guardians appealing for help or even mercy. Instead, each of the stoic faces observed her with pity and sometimes even condemnation keeping her trapped with their glares. Some even turned their heads away too ashamed to acknowledge her.

Unfortunately, more than a few were more aggressive. Mixed-in with the families, the instigators hurled objects at her, calling her names, never caring that she was just a child.

Not having a choice except to flee, Hinata ran away while a cohort of people chased after her. Wearing bloody-red masks in various forms of detail, they kept her in the blight, not allowing her to escape into the safe acceptance of the shadows.

Desperate, Hinata sprinted into a dark alleyway, poorly lit with ruby-colored lights. Scared and wanting nothing more than to go home, she inadvertently bumped into someone.

Since Naruto could not remember his face, Hinata just saw a really large belly of a man towering over her. Smelly and drunk, Hinata felt a large meaty hand thrust something into her arms.

As Naruto described the first impressions of the mask, she felt the hairs on the nape of her neck stand on end. Vivid images of death, gore, and blood – lots of blood – horrified her avatar, as if she was holding carnage incarnate.

Hinata flinched as the mind's eye version of her was suddenly and cruelly punched squarely in the face.

The scene abruptly shifted – as Naruto regained consciousness – to the same mask being held in front of her bleeding face. The crowd finally found the child and they stalkingly encircled her. Terrified, Hinata looked to each of the bloody foxes for support, but those that were not yelling and cheering were just regarding her with cold stares.

"Rem-ber, thisss whoyu are," the fat drunk said to her.

Closing her eyes, she felt the mask touch her face.

"Remember!" She heard his invidious voice clearly. "And don't-don't forget because…"

Then Hinata saw a huge foot tower above her, ready to completely annihilate her into the ground.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"It was a whore," Naruto said abruptly filling the still void with echoes of his laughter. Hinata, still cowering in fear from the foot above her in her mind, refocused her eyes to reality.

"Right before he could hurt me, a woman came from behind and whispered something into his ear. She cooed him, soothed him, and he agreed to leave me alone.

"Then as he went to pick up his mask, I for some reason would not let it go. With all the strength I had I held it close to my body. I stared at him, with utmost hate in my eyes, even while he threatened to stomp on me again. Suddenly, the whore was there again mewing into his ear, with her arms all over his fat body, somehow constraining him without physical strength.

"While she was seducing him, my eyes followed her arms up to my savior. Hinata, I do not know how to describe _the look_ she gave me. It was a mix of pity and understanding, shyness and desire, but ultimately acceptance. To my young self where almost everyone hated me it meant the world. "

He then laughed again and if Hinata's eyes did not already adjust to the dark, she would have thought him crying.

While Naruto chuckled wildly, Hinata tried to make sense of his anecdote. She assumed that he was still in the academy, but the way he described the experience did not add up to the Naruto that she knew, for her Naruto was always laughing and showing off. He would not have backed away to anyone, least of all a drunkard.

As she looked back up to his face, Naruto stopped laughing and said, "I was five."

Hinata gasped. Only five years old and already treated like a monster.

The tears flowed. It took all her effort not to jump up and hug him, console him, and promise to make it all better.

She slowly moved her hand towards his, ignoring the logical part of her brain telling her to hesitate. A small gesture, at least it would show him that she cared and empathized with his pain.

Before her hand could connect to his, however, Naruto propelled backwards on the swing, keeping himself out of her reach.

As if slapped, Hinata withdrew her unwanted hand. She looked at Naruto with a mixture of hurt and confusion. Her gaze wavered against his; the moment prolonged as they heard jovial yells in the distance.

Steely blue irides trapped her, and for a split-second Hinata knew that she was going to finally find out the truth.

When the voices died out, Naruto spoke, "You know what really bothers me, Hinata? It's not so much the villagers who now all love me, or even the Lords who claim to have always supported me," Naruto pointed in the direction of the festival with his head, "as it is my supposed _friends_."

Forgetting about her sadness, Hinata looked genuinely perplexed.

"Don't pretend like you don't know."

Barely managing a whisper, Hinata said a word that resembled, "what?"

"Not even a full day after getting rejected by the Raikage, I was intercepted by Sakura, Sai, and _Kiba_." Naruto said her teammate's name accusingly at Hinata.

"Sakura tried to convince me to forget about Sasuke and go home with her."

"How…"

Naruto looked at Hinata condescendingly, like a teacher regarding a dim-witted child.

She quickly pushed forward, "H-how co-could anyone convince you not to re-rescue Sasuke?"

Hinata could tell that Naruto's anger abated a little at the unexpected question. For a fleeting moment, bewilderment splashed across his face, and Hinata dared to hope that her Naruto was still somewhere there.

She should have steeled herself instead.

"Apparently, while I was lying unconscious from taking a beating from Kumo ninjas who wanted me to betray Sasuke, all of you had a meeting. With the "genius" Shikamaru as the leader, you all convinced Sakura to go behind my team's back, my back, and _kill_ Sasuke!"

Hinata heard more yells and cheers in the background, as if an unseen audience were goading him on.

"I should have known the meeting with the Raikage was a waste of time."

Hinata tried to analyze, to think of a solution to help him understand the truth, but Naruto's ragged and heavy breathing flustered her. One minute she was listening to his painful past and the next she was at the brunt end of a vicious verbal assault from the person she so desperately wanted to help. In the darkness, everything was spiraling out of control, and the only thing she could grab onto was Naruto's wrath.

Barely managing a whisper she said, "I wasn't there. I have no idea what—"

"Liar!" Naruto spat the word venomously at her.

"Why would I ever lie—"

"I searched for you," Naruto's voice was heavy with tight fury, "everywhere in Konoha."

"Naruto-kun, please…"

"I didn't see any of you!" Naruto's voice was higher echoing into the vastness of the night, "Not Sakura, not Kiba, and especially not _you_, Hinata. I personally scoured Konoha for hours with my Kage Bunshins. To think that I actually wanted to see you…"

"I wasn't there!" Hinata yelled trying to get through to him.

"Then where were you? Sakura told me that all of our friends met and that as a group it was decided to be in Konoha's best interest to kill him before he hurts anyone else."

"I was at the Rice Fields," Hinata's voice was frantic. She then desperately pleaded, "Don't you remember, Naruto-kun?"

This time Hinata saw no hesitation in his eyes.

"Stop lying to me," he said with an edge to his voice. "I hate liars."

"I'm not! I—"

"I already know the truth, Hinata. I just want to hear it from you. Did Kiba talk you into it, or did you honestly think you were doing me a favor by betraying me?"

"I would never betray you!"

"I heard what you and Kiba said about me; that I was some "monster" you were supposed to _distract_!"

"W-we weren't tal-talking about you, Naruto-kun. We we-were ta…"

Hinata could barely speak through blinding tears and the sobs which precariously hung at the edge of her eyes. Staring into the firestorm of fury in Naruto's irides, she knew that there was nothing she could say to convince him of the truth.

Yet, even though it was hopeless she wanted to say one thing, "I-I lo-lo—"

"Fine, let's just say that I do believe you. You were not there when they all met. But, let's just say that you were. What would you have done? Would you have stopped them, said anything to them, or just do what you usually do and go along with whatever they decided?"

Her anguished cries finally escaped.

For the very first time in her life, Hinata wished that she would faint and just let the blackness take her. Then, she could wake up and tell herself that this was just a horrible nightmare inspired by her family problems. Never in her life would she have thought that the one person she wholeheartedly loved would ever hurt her. It was too much to bear.

No, it should have been too much to bear, but life has a quirky way of pushing people to be strong; just when they need to be.

Naruto watched as she hugged her knees; Indigo hair covering her face. Rocking back and forth, he could hear her weeping openly. He let her cry. He did not take pleasure in it, but nor did he do anything to assuage her sadness.

Naruto stared at her, listening more than looking, for his mind was elsewhere.

'_I would have forgiven her if she didn't lie to me._'

Naruto did not mean to be so cruel. Hinata has never been anything but honest and kind to him, so when she blatantly evaded the truth, the raging words escaped his usually tongue-tied mouth.

He was jarred out of his thoughts when he did not hear her cry anymore. Only hearing slight sniffles, a bit of pity invaded his heart when he saw Hinata turn to lay away from him, holding herself together in a protective ball.

Naruto looked away too ashamed in himself to even gaze at her.

'_Did I do that to her?' _He then turned around. _'But all I did was confront her lies. Why is she so hurt from being called a liar?'_

Watching her listless body, he suddenly wanted to take her off the ground, carry home, and put her safely in bed.

'_What if she's telling the truth?_' The sharp knife of doubt cut a crack in his stony heart.

"Hinata…" Naruto did not know what to say as regret burdened him, "I—"

Faster, much faster than he thought possible from the prone girl in front of him, Hinata's body blurred suddenly. Since normal human eyes cannot track movement as easily in the dark as it could in the day, Naruto watched as the black strands of her hair caught up with her and swung around her face. Behind the strands, twin moons bore into his eyes, into his very soul.

Attention captured, he barely noticed when his hand suddenly felt something soft. Behind it, he could feel a strong rhythmic beating, and curious, Naruto closed his eyes to listen to it better.

It was warm and strong, yet fragile, and the longer he held it, the safer he felt. It was as if the percussion was speaking to him, inviting him to know its secret. Just before he could decipher what it was saying, his hand suddenly felt cold.

Opening his eyes, Naruto could not help but ask, "What was that?"

"The truth."

"Which is?"

Hinata took a step back and simultaneously removed both their hands from each other's chest.

"That I am a fool, Naruto-kun."

As Hinata backed away, Naruto gasped for breath while clutching the pain in his chest. He gazed at her with a mixture of hurt and confusion. He then noticed her hand, resting on her chest, faintly glowing azure.

Besides the Byakugan, the _Gentle Fist Style_ taijutsu is another attribute known only to exist in the Hyuuga clan. Instead of traditional taijutsu where hard and fast strikes inflict physical pain, the Hyuuga's style attacks underneath the muscle and bone to destroy the vital organs. In fact, a Hyuuga with great chakra control would only need to softly touch a person's body to hurt if not kill them.

"What did you do to me," Naruto whispered desperately with a hoarse voice.

"Nothing," she replied without turning her head. "I would never hurt you Naruto-kun. You should know that…should have remembered."

Naruto wanted to believe her but the burning in his chest overwhelmed him. He could barely look at her while he fought the pain.

"I just wanted to know if you still had a heart."

"_And?_" Naruto breathed out the word meaning only to keep it in his head.

"Goodbye, Naruto-kun."

Naruto watched her leave. For some reason, he could not help but ponder what he felt earlier when he was holding her heart. He listened to the _clack-clack_ of her slippers as they became softer.

It was not until the clouds parted that he finally understood. As moonlight bathed the park, Naruto had to shield his eyes from the sudden ambience. Squinting, he ignored the pale crescent in the sky, and instead focused his gaze on the girl walking away from him.

'_Hinata?_' Her attire was no longer fit for an elaborate moratorium, and instead, a kimono made for a princess. "Bright" was the only word Naruto could think to describe the dress as his dilated pupils could barely register a single color. His eyes were not the only parts of Naruto burning for he finally understood the burning embers in his heart.

"Hinata, wait!"

"No, Naruto-kun," he heard her speak softly without a hint of malice in her voice. "You're right. I would not have done anything. I'm too meek and weak a woman for you, Naruto-kun. I'm sorry."

He called out to her again but she ignored him. How could he convince her to stay? Watching the illuminated scenery around him, he felt foolish.

'_How could I have not seen? It was so obvious._'

Naruto gazed at her. Even though the dress was a poignant reminder, he knew that Hinata did not need it for him to realize that she was his light, his warmth.

However, his source of light was leaving him. Naruto shivered as the encroaching night threatened to take him again.

'_Maybe it would be better if she left_,' he thought. '_I hurt her, someone who loves me. I hurt her more than any of my friends before, even Sakura. _

Naruto resolved to just let her go. He tried to make peace with the darkness, but he could not help but shudderer at the tenebrific night.

It was not until Hinata reached the end of the park that his heart acted on its own accord.

"Hinata, please don't go! I'm sorry. I just realized it now but you're—"

"Naruto," he heard her calm voice clearly in the night, "if you truly have a heart then you will let me go. I do not want to be here anymore." His eyes idly watched the throb of her dress as it illuminated the passionate red of the brick arches above her.

"_Please_?" Naruto heard the crack in her voice, echoing the simultaneous crack in his heart.

'_You're being very selfish. Just let her go!_' He yelled in his head. He knew he was doing it again; hurting her.

However, when he opened his mouth to respond, his heart answered instead, "Tomorrow. Can I see you tomorrow, Hinata?"

As soon as he said the words, Naruto immediately thrust his head into his hands. Of all the stupid and useless things to say, how could he have the gall to ask to see her again after what he did to her tonight? He imagined Hinata scoffing, and then if not running away then definitely stomping away. He almost wished she were more like Sakura so that she could just punch him in the face, for that would be a minor reconciliation for the agony he caused her.

Resolved to just go home and try to make it better tomorrow, Naruto wondered if Hinata would even talk to him again.

He was surprised, however, when as he lifted his head his source of light was still standing there, at the edge of grounds, within in Naruto's presence.

Head turned with an absolute-stony face; her pale eyes stared at him.

Even as Naruto's heart thumped wildly in his chest, the only look he could muster was genuine bewilderment as he could not fathom why she has not left yet.

'_Maybe she will punch me_,' Naruto thought paradoxically relieved and mortified at the same time.

He then barely noticed a miniscule gesture, so small in fact, that if he blinked he would have missed it.

It was an affirmative nod.

While his heart soared, Naruto watched as Hinata's stoic mask suddenly shattered and she began sobbing. He did not know what to do as she literally held herself together on her feet.

Jumping out of his swing, he prepared himself to run over to her to make sure she would not fall over. Just as his feet touched the ground, however, he was suddenly blind as his source of light fled, leaving him in his darkness.

"Training grounds!" He yelled into the night, wondering if Hinata heard or him or if she would even care.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Shinobi bless the night for it keeps them safe from harm, especially during dangerous missions where the only thing protecting them from torture and death, was the still shadows. For Naruto, however, he could no longer stand them. Once accepting, it was now demanding. Formerly safe, it was now precarious. Deceptively warm, it was now bitterly cold.

Naruto hid his heart in the darkness, unaware of his unconscious actions even while he hurt his friend. That same friend, instead of reinforcing the lies he thought about her, protected him, showing his heart light and genuine warmth.

'_What had it cost her?_' Naruto sat up in bed, staring at bright blue sky, in the warm summer morning.

He then remembered Hinata crying, holding herself together, and staying in his darkness even though she had the opportunity to leave him. He wondered what was going to happen today, if he would get to see her again.

'_What have I done_?'

Author's Notes:

Wow, well that took a damn long time! I wish that I could say that I took a break and only spent the last three weeks writing this chapter, but that would be a blatant untruth. This is not the "original" chapter three, so I essentially spent about eight and a half weeks writing a finished first draft for chapters four and five on top of this completed one.

I honestly do not know how this chapter will do with the readers considering it's not the typical "cute" Naruto – Hinata romance that I usually see. Also, it is not action oriented and has lots of heavy drama in it. Furthermore, I think I may be a bit jaded from spending almost nine weeks constantly thinking about the same chapter, so I feel like this update may not be as good as the other two. But, no matter how you may feel, thanks again for reading, especially if you were one of the unfortunate ones who waited nine weeks for an update.

Shout Outs: I should have done this in Chapter Two but better late than never

Kyuki of the Amethyst Shadow: Your review from Chapter 1 is still the kindest and sweetest review I have ever heard. I hope you're still reading and I secretly wonder if my writing still lives up to your standard.

Rose Tiger: Because of you, I am paranoid and I do my best to double check my spelling, especially the Japanese words. Thank you!

Dragon Dance, Arie-chan, Annasuki : Your reviews from my two chapters captured the totality of my aim, which is to write something deeper and meaningful. Thank you and I always try to keep my literature exciting and interesting

Going Ghost: I'm sorry that I kept you up, lol

Okazaki323: Your out of the blue review made me really happy. I did not get one in a month, and everyday I was not finished with my story, I thought of you and how I need to get this done, lol.

To all my other reviewers. Please do not be offended if I did not mention your name. I read every single review and every time I check my email I harbor some hope that someone else enjoyed my story and decided to review it. I actually get a little sad when I don't see a notification in my inbox. Anyway, the more poignant or ponderous the review, the more compelled I feel to reply. It's not because I want to but because guilt grows, hence, why I am just now doing a shout out on reviews from three months ago. :P Last, each review affects me and keeps me writing. Thank you!

Fun Facts:

I debated with myself for awhile if I should keep the main conflict of Naruto getting angry at Hinata in this chapter. At one point, I even made a list of pros and cons to see if it would be better to not include Naruto being upset about the autograph which would mean taking away the "mask." However, Konohamaru and Hinata learning to laugh were some of the original concepts for this chapter.

Updates: What everyone waits for.

I first turned Chapter Three into two Chapters, and the Fourth Chapter was originally supposed to be included as part of this Chapter. Now there are thrice parts to this Arc, and since Chapter Four is a mediator between this one and Chapter Five, I want to keep it as short as possible.

I already wrote the main Naruto – Hinata moment in that chapter, and now I just have to add a few more scenes to make it relevant.

However, I am going on vacation for three weeks, so an update may not come for awhile.

As always, I firmly believe in quality before quantity so I apologize in advance if it takes a long time. On the other hand, there are tons of better stories out there, so it should not be too bad waiting for my update.

Thanks again.

"_You have no idea how much it means to me that you read my story_,"

Malakas.


	4. Hana

"Hail and Farewell"

(Part Two)

Prologue:

* * *

"Oh, oh, what the hell is this?" she asked while grabbing the pamphlet her best friend was holding.

"Leiko! You're so rude! You know how much I hate it when you sneak up on me." Leiko casually waved her off as she usually does when she became intent upon something. In response, Sachi snorted but silently trailed behind her friend as the two students emerged from the hall, and trotted down the stairs. Protective gazes of the three past village leaders, majestically carved into the mountain, watched them as they walked through the courtyard.

"What is this garbage, Sachi?"

"No-nothing. Oneechan had it in her book. It—"

"You mean the one she carries around with her, the one written by one of the Legendary Sannin? What was his name? The perverted one."

"Where did you hear that? He's—"

"He's a pervert. According to Kaachan, it's common knowledge to stay away from ninjas like him."

"Could you please stop interrupting me!" Sachi squealed finally at her limit. She thrust her skinny arms down to the sides of her plaid skirt. Leiko, not the least bit phased, turned her playful auburn eyes on her. Although her mirth was condescending, Sachi was satisfied by her merciful silence.

"Thank you," she said with as much dignity as she could muster (beyond that of an eleven year old). "Anyway, his name is Jiraiya-sama and he writes the _Icha Icha_ series.

"You know the name of the series?" she mocked while feigning shock. "Sachi, you read that!"

"What? No! This morning this pamphlet fell out of her book and there's a poem, er, I mean a puzzle in it."

"Here, let me see:

_I am a desideratum_

_My essence is used on women, my names given to children_

_And the men have no chance without me_

_Potential lovers whisper sweet words_

_While they cruelly pull away my layers_

_Happiness, Attention, and Forgiveness can be yours_

_It's only price: my life._

_What am I?_

The two girls exited the campus and steadily climbed the grassy hill towards their next class.

"So what do you think it is?"

"I don't know, I mean I don't care. It's all just girly—"

"Come on," Sachi whined. "I've been trying to figure this out all day."

Leiko thrust her hands up in frustration. "What's the big deal?"

"It's a contest. The Fire Country's Official Theatre Troupe is going to perform a play next month, and according to the pamphlet it is about one of Konoha's greatest legends. Only the first three people who correctly guess the legend get exclusive tickets to opening night!"

"Eh," her friend replied in boredom. Then her eyes lit up as if the answer just popped into her head. With a suspicious grin, she narrowed her eyes and bent her head close to Sachi's red-flushed ears. "It sounds like something Hinata would write."

Sachi exclaimed in mild disgust. Usually, she could ignore her friend's stupid comments but with all her energy spent on guessing the riddle of the legend, her patience was running out. "I was serious, Leiko. I really want to go to this."

She then almost tripped over a hidden branch in the wild grass. Her friend caught her before Sachi's face planted into the dirt, which helped to smother some of her anger. "You don't even know her. Just because she's quiet and shy—"

"You mean dark and broody," her friend interrupted again.

"—doesn't mean that she's…never mind." As quickly as her anger dissipated it came back again. This time, however, Sachi kept it in knowing that her friend would just laugh it off.

"I swear, Leiko, I don't even know why I'm friends with you."

"It's because I'm not a threat to you, Sachi," she retorted casually as if informing her friend of the weather today.

On the surface, Leiko's statement seemed wrong, if not condescending. She was bigger than Sachi, and not just taller but bulkier as well. Even some of the older boys cowered from her. One would think that her physical prowess alone would be intimidating enough, but add her iron will coupled with an unflinching wit, and it becomes obvious why she had so few friends.

Sachi smiled because she knew something that nobody else in the world knew. Leiko is right for she was not a threat to her. Unlike herself, with her long jet-black hair and matching obsidian eyes, most other girls considered Sachi the real threat, not Leiko. Especially since her body started blooming early, girls like Hayashi Yoi and Yamanaka Ino rarely gave her a moment's peace. They would barrage her with questions, slyly asking about her interests, all the while, looking for a weakness.

'_All this for a boy_,' she thought again for the hundredth time. Even the shy ones like Haruno Sakura gave her queer looks while gossiping behind her back.

Only Leiko, with her big hands, constant teasing, carefree attitude, and innocent auburn eyes could be considered her true friend. Not only did she never seem to care about looks, but she always defended her from Yoi and Ino, telling them to go away or worse if an adult was not around.

Sachi smirked with a sidelong glance at Leiko. There was something disarming about her friend's mismatched and well used clothes, confident gait, and her autumn-colored hair, chopped short.

She looked ahead and frowned again for even their close friendship could not stop the girl from being upset when Leiko teased Hinata.

'_We're alike in many ways,_' she thought when she saw the tiny girl, with lavender hair, wearing a black kimono, looking terrified at the apex of the hill.

Sachi then got a brilliant idea. '_I'll ask Hinata! I bet she would know what legend it is_.' Unfortunately, her friend had the same idea. Before she could even greet Hinata, Leiko grabbed the pamphlet out of her hands, thrust it out to the shocked girl, and commanded her to read it.

It came as no surprise to Sachi that Leiko's actions had the opposite effect. Hinata cowered from the apparent demonic charm and was trying to ward it off with incoherent mumbles.

"Please, Hinata," Sachi interjected kindly before the mumbles became worse. "Can you read it and tell me what legend it is?"

"U-um, su-sure, Sach—"

"We gotta go," Leiko said. Both girls followed her gaze and saw what she was looking at. Down into the ravine, a dozen girls were congregating in the ample shade of a Banyan tree. Most were talking with their assigned trio of peers, but more than a few were blowing on the dandelion heads, spreading the pollen in the strong wind. Amongst the cheerful students, one person was succinctly bringing order. Middle aged, sporting shoulder-length hair the color of dried blood, with a stocky but tight build, anyone she talked to quickly sat down by the tree.

"Bara-sensei is going to punish me again. Let's go!" Leiko then sprinted down the hill, not caring about branches hiding in the tall grass. Sachi and Hinata soon followed, albeit more cautiously.

Amidst the adrenaline fueled-run, Sachi glanced back at the Hyuuga princess. Hinata met her gaze and then quickly looked back down at the pamphlet again. With her pupil-less eyes, Sachi could not tell if Hinata's face held recognition or resignation.

* * *

Chapter 4: _Hana_

"_Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it._" ~ Samuel Langhorne Clemens

* * *

"_It's too damn early!_" one shinobi silently cursed the inconsiderate client who needed a team of ninjas this early in the morning. In his current state, which he felt was barely above cognizance, his torpid thoughts kept returning to his _true _love; her soft doughy pillows and her always-accepting embrace.

'_What I wouldn't do to be back in bed,_' he thought, wishing he could curl back into a ball under his warmest comforter. Usually, he would not need the heavy blanket during this time of the year, but it became uncharacteristically cold in the wee hours of the morning, which was also when he got home. Not thinking that he could be any more miserable, he groaned when he realized that it was only a few _hours_ ago.

Fighting the sudden need to cry, as well as the ensuing and less extreme urge to complain, he instead distracted himself by glancing at his comrades. His two teammates looked just as tired as he did, and despite his Sensei's fashionable sunglasses, he could see deep circles around his eyes.

He then remembered his life's dream of one day being the Hokage, the most powerful leader of the Konoha ninja village, and forced maturity upon himself like a heavy winter cloak.

That seemed to do the trick because he suddenly realized where he was, and no amount of exhaustion would keep him from smiling. Trash littered the square and those that were properly disposed of, threatened to break its meager receptacles. Although the crisp-fresh air permeated his clothes, the ninja's mouth involuntarily watered, remembering the myriad of tasty treats that he ate not too long ago.

'_Wow_,' he thought as he looked around. '_I guess I was not the only one having fun last night._' He said the latter thought to himself when he saw a pile of broken glass near one of the café's.

Emerging from an alleyway to the gate, he was surprised to see a welcome face walking along a perpendicular path towards him. His team must have noticed too for they all stopped and stared.

Konohamaru has always been one for little details. Ever since his rival showed him _his_ girl, Konohamaru became obsessed and has spent his life attempting to create the most beautiful female specimen alive. He thought that he could just think of a sexy female and automatically he would turn into her. The fledgling artist could not have been more wrong.

During the first few sparring matches with his senpai, Konohamaru's girls were…well to put it kindly unattractive, if not downright inhuman. It infuriated him how his rival's signature blond-bombshell was so perfect, so much so that it shames him knowing that he was actually attracted to her at one point. Konohamaru quickly learned that he would not only have to work hard, but also be creative, in his epic struggle of humanistic art.

So he studied people. Not just women and their bodies, but men and their reactions. Back then, he was a child, not even a pre-teen, while forging into new territory without the convenient guidance of a sensei. Needless to say, it was not easy and he honestly felt that he spent more time running away from his subjects than actually studying them. However, three years of diligence does pay off.

In his first match with his rival after a two and a half year hiatus, Konohamaru knew he had the perfect woman, so beautiful in fact that no man could resist her. He became sorely disappointed that he could get his rival to even blink at her. Keeping his feelings in check, lest he lose the match, Konohamaru studied his rival's perfect transformation, every intricate detail from her eyes, to her pose, to the subtle way she graced the wind with her hands, all to find the secret to his technique. Konohamaru promised himself that one day he would create a girl that could defeat his rival.

Excusing himself from his team while getting permission for a few minutes pause before their mission, Konohamaru proceeded to intercept Uzumaki Naruto. He could not help but think how perfect an attack would be.

'_He's not paying attention to anything_,' Konohamaru surmised while mentally leafing through his considerable arsenal of naked women. Looking at him, Konohamaru immediately noticed his older all-but-blood brother's demeanor. Aside from the obvious orange and black jumpsuit, infamous blond hair, and crystal blue eyes, the young ninja could tell by his friend's hunched shoulders and low cast gaze that something was deeply troubling him.

"Hi, Oniichan!" he greeted Naruto. Konohamaru was glad that he said a salutation and not the word _Henge_, which would have transformed him into an attractive woman. It was too early in the morning to lose another match.

"Oh, good morning, Konohamaru." Despite the greeting, he could tell that Naruto kept his gaze averted.

Tactless, he just blurted out, "Why are you out here at the crack of dawn?"

"Nothing, can't a guy just go for a walk!"

Surprised by the defensive reaction, the younger shinobi raised his arms up in a gesture of peace. However, he might as well have just done hand stands for as sudden as the anger came, it dispelled like a candle being snuffed by the wind. Konohamaru noticed that his older brother stared intently at some broken glass close to the nearby café.

"Are you okay, Oniichan?"

"Yeah, I honestly just couldn't sleep so I might as well get an early start on my training."

"Oh, okay, well I'll just go too. I've got a very important mission to get to, you know?"

"Sure, Squirt."

Konohamaru did not take more than a few steps before he heard Naruto's voice call out for him.

"Thanks, Konohamaru."

"Huh?"

"For last night, I saw you cover for me."

Konohamaru laughed. "Don't worry about it. Actually, I had so much more fun last night with all the attention. I still don't understand why you wanted to avoid everyone."

A trio of chicks chirped loudly for their mother. The youngest of the three, a baby with a tuff of grey feathers the consistency of mottled fur, cried the loudest because he was hungry. While his two siblings were already fed, he had to wait while his mother foraged for more food.

Konohamaru imagined the hungry chicks and the mother on her mission, while he distracted himself when Naruto did not reply to the obviously leading statement. The silence hung thickly in the air, and it was not until the mother bird returned that he decided to change the subject.

"Did Hinata-oneechan find you? She searched all throughout the festival, and I didn't see either of you once I got off the stage."

His words must have struck a chord for Konohamaru saw Naruto's face blanch, and for the first time since that morning, his older brother actually looked him in the eyes.

'_Oh_,' Konohamaru thought looking into his crestfallen irises, '_I picked the wrong topic_.'

He was about to excuse himself in order spare himself another excruciating round of awkward silence. Surprisingly,, Naruto replied to him.

"Yes, she did."

"Are you okay, Oniichan?"

He heard Naruto chuckle a little, a desperate attempt at levity when something ponderous was weighing him down. "Honestly, no, not really. But look, um, you should head back because your team is waiting for you, and I _know_ how important your D-rank missions are to you."

Both boys smiled to each other, a mocking shadow of the usual playful nature between the two.

"Are you going to see her today?"

"Hopefully," Naruto answered too quickly.

"That bad?"

Naruto's solemn nod spoke volumes.

"Don't worry. You're the only one in Konoha who seemed _not_ to know how much she cared for you, and now that you do, everything will be alright."

However confident his words, it seemed to have no effect on his brother.

"What are you going to do when you see her?"

"Um, honestly I do not know." Despite the situation, Naruto still rubbed his hair while smirking sheepishly.

"You seriously do not have a plan?" Konohamaru teased while raising his voice.

"What?" He said matching his rival's volume. "I just thought…you know…that I would just see how it goes..."

"Seriously?" he retorted again as if Naruto just said that he would see Hinata in nothing but his birthday suit.

"Yeah, and?" The two rivals stared at each other in a sudden contest of concentration, each one using their most intense glare to get the other to break. This time, it was Naruto who was the lesser, and who snorted a mild chuckle. Almost instantly, the tension evaporated and both boys laughed hardily, disturbing the tranquility of the morning.

The mother bird returned to her chicks with more food, and the shrill and excited squeaks transitioned the day from unholy daybreak to, "it's still too early morning." Some elderly townsfolk took their usual walks, undeterred by the time or their age, and in their wisdom, enjoyed the serenity before the boisterous younglings awoke. The more entrepreneurial shopkeepers arrived at their establishments to begin preparing for yet another work day.

As rays pierced the clouds, they lit up Naruto's wild and currently unkempt hair, barely adding anymore brightness to its usual color. Although looking in the direction of the sun, it did not blind him.

Naruto said, "I think _Closet Pervert _wants to go already."

Referring to his sensei as a closet pervert brought another bought of laughter from Konohamaru. Naruto's nickname for Ebisu was earned because the elite ninja still will not openly admit that he was perverted enough to lose to Naruto's _Harem no Jutsu_.

The younger replied, "I know he wants to go. I can practically feel his stare at my back. However, the fact that he has not said anything shows how much respect he has for you, Oniichan."

"Still, you should go."

"You're right." He started walking away, then thought of something, and turned. "Everything will be alright. Just don't screw up this time around. Oh, and when you do I can meet you tonight for ramen if you like."

Konohamaru then waved and ran back to his team and pretended not to hear the intense lecture from his sensei.

Hope rekindled, Naruto walked away from his brother and the oasis of sunlight which brightened his spirits all the way to the training grounds.

-/-

Training ground number three was an ancient location where at least four generations of Konoha ninjas trained, and one would barely even know. Aside from the three vertical punching logs and well-beaten clearing, it was surrounded by Konoha's vast forests, making it an ideal location not just for physical training but mental clearing as well. The quiet had a soothing effect on the soul and more than one ninja forsook their day's rigorous training to listen to the river's run as it bisected its way through the landscape.

This is what Naruto did since he could not concentrate enough to train. Surely, he did make a sincere attempt upon improving his techniques, and he did go through the required motions, but without his will and sincere effort, he might as well have run in circles for all the good it would do him. Instead, he sat upon the river bank with his pants rolled up to his knees, and allowed his legs to be gently pulled by the river's destinuous current.

Naruto watched the clouds as they nonchalantly dominated the sky._ 'What's so great about them?"_ he idly wondered, thinking about his friend, and self-proclaimed cloud-reading expert Shikamaru. Thinking about him and his friends brought up a smorgasbord of emotions, but once they ran its course, they left Naruto with only an intense sense of loneliness. He was alienated from his friends, and even though he felt justified in the reason for his bitterness towards them, it was all too surreal.

Just as the river's run inevitably collects into a lake on the opposite side of the country, Naruto's thoughts always drift back to the deep reservoir of Hinata. His truest friend, she was also the only one who received his entire pent-up wrath. Thinking about her made his heart jump up to his throat, and the only thing he could feel and hear was his heartbeat, as if his body wanted to make sure that it was still there.

Suddenly, he heard a commotion behind him in the woods. Worries evaporated, he considered himself a fool for not figuring it out sooner. Of course she was hiding in the trees! Hinata used to spy on him all the time, so it makes sense that she would gauge him from afar before finally confronting him.

He stood up and scanned the verdant boundary, keeping his smile in check despite the excitement that was building within him. What would he say? What would he do? He thought about calling out to her and letting her know that she had been caught, so she should just come out already. Instead, he listened to his mischievous spirit and waited for her to emerge when she was ready.

Finally, the rustling became obvious and Naruto knew that she was ready to see him. When she finally did come into the clearing, the anxious boy had to squint twice and then look down. It was not a shy girl, but a surprised rabbit that stared at Naruto.

Turning his back on the unwanted but relieved animal, he began to realize just how alone he really was. He never thought his mood could get any lower, but allowing himself to hope only made the disappointment that much more devastating.

He stared back into the moving river, wondering where the current could take him. It could not be any more precarious than the current he was currently swept up in now. For the next few eternities, he watched the color of the water change from almost transparent, to bright aquamarine, and now to melancholy orange. When the sun was way beyond its zenith and the only thing keeping him there was raw hope, he finally heard someone entering from the dirt road.

The dejected shinobi listlessly got up to greet the person while thinking about finding Konohamaru and eating dinner. When the traveler turned the bend, Naruto became momentarily blinded by the sun's setting rays. As his vision cleared, he needed to rub his eyes again just in case he was looking at a mirage.

'_Hinata?'_ he silently mouthed, gaping at her openly. He knew that he should make himself look presentable, or at least seem busy, but all he could do was dumbly stare at her.

Once the immediate shock wore off, he noticed that she was wearing her usual lavender outfit, although it seemed a little wearied, as if she just got back from a lengthy mission. Also, with the absence of pupils, the dark rings contrasted sharply with her eyes, almost giving the effect that she was wearing eye-shadow. However, if she was tired, she definitely did not show it. The Hyuuga princess' gait was confident and strong, as what would be expected of a member of one Konoha's royal houses, and one would wonder if she was just going to pass by and ignore the common boy with his muddy feet and dirty trousers.

By the time she did stop in front of him, Naruto was so surprised that he became trapped in paralysis. Hesitating at first, he mumbled incoherently as all his words and thoughts fought their way out of his mouth.

As a child, Hinata was the only one who never called Naruto "loser" or "stupid" after one of his myriad pranks or annoying outbursts. Although Hinata rarely ever spoke to him, and the few times she did barely lasted more than a word, even he knew that she treated him differently from the rest of his classmates. Unfortunately, Naruto's youthful-over-the-top exuberance blinded him from understanding her shyness and hesitation, and from taking the steps to know the girl behind her handicap.

He was too nervous to catch on to the irony of the situation.

Naruto was on the verge of panic. Before he lost his rapidly failing resolve, he thrust out his hand. Waiting through the awkward pause, Naruto looked up to see Hinata making a mildly disgusted face. Quickly, Naruto glanced at his palm to make sure he was holding a flower and not some boyish charm such as a dead bee or a frog.

"It's from Konohamaru," Naruto said with a divine moment of clarity.

Suddenly, the flower was gone from his hand, and as the girl perched it over her ear, Naruto could have sworn that Hinata transformed into a whole new woman. She smiled from ear to ear and even blushed.

Unfortunately, she became gloomy again once Naruto told her that Konohamaru left on a mission, and then she wordlessly walked away to the three logs and began punching them.

Naruto dumbly watched her with a hopelessly confused face. He must have been staring at her for a long time for the back of Hinata's head said, "Isn't this why you asked me to come to the training grounds, or was it for something else?"

Rebuked, he turned away to work on his own jutsu.

'_What could I work on_,' he asked himself rhetorically. What didn't he already try today? Naruto was in peak physical condition, but then again Guy-sensei, the ultimate work-out ninja, would beg to differ. He also already attempted Sennin-mode, but the more his body became tranquil, the louder his heart beat in his ears.

Automatically, he put his hands together and started the seal for the Kage Bunshin technique.

"Kage—" he started but stalled in the eerie silence. He looked up and saw Hinata standing frozen with her curled fists by her side. Even though her back faced him, Naruto got the feeling that she was watching his every move.

He did not know why but some instinct told him not to use his clones, and with a loud sigh of acquiescence he turned away again.

Oddly, it was not until he heard Hinata take up her rhythmic punching routine that he knew what he was going to attempt: to make a _Rasengan_ with just one hand. It was a ludicrous idea, and the thought rarely ever made it into his consciousness. With all the problems with Akatsuki, the organization hunting him and murdering his friends; Sasuke, his former best friend who he needed to save; and the need to become more powerful to protect all that he held sacred, the thought rarely ever skirted his consciousness. Only during those long nights, out in the open sky with his team, did he mildly fantasize about using the Rasengan as it was meant to. Just like Kakashi and Jiraiya.

Just like his father.

It was definitely not for pragmatic reasons for Naruto had way more than enough chakra to compensate for having to use clones. Tack on the fact that he surpassed all his predecessors by completing the impossible task of harmonizing the Rasengan with his inherent _Fuuton_ nature, most people would easily count their blessings and move on. But then again, Naruto was not like most people. Maybe it was just the right time for him to finish the training, or maybe it was due to a certain enigmatic woman alongside him, but before Naruto knew it, he had already started condensing chakra into his palm.

The sun hid behind the tall Evergreens, and miniscule orbs littered the dying sky, unlike the tiny one spiraling in Naruto's palm. Triumphant, he would have jumped and hollered in pure glee had he the energy left to do so. Instead, he beamed wearily and reveled in the bittersweet moment. He could not help but remember the painful trials of learning the Rasengan with Jiraiya, his master who he sorely missed.

"Hey, Hinata!" Naruto croaked, surprised by the hoarseness in his voice. Of course, she ignored him. He held out his palm anyway not allowing the the spinning ball, over the crater of his flesh, to dissipate until she had at least glanced his way.

The moment turned into seconds, and the seconds ticked by while his cheeks flushed. A spectrum of emotions coursed through him, first longing, then embarrassment, sadness, and even shame. He was not prepared, however, as the last two emotions of hope and determination took him.

Before he realized what he was doing, he had already started infusing wind chakra into his Rasengan. Treading on very dangerous water, Naruto instantly knew that he should stop doing this. Mixing nature manipulation and shape manipulation was a whole other level of difficulty. Even the Yondaime Hokage, scourge of Iwa-nin armies because of his Flying Thunder God Technique, a space-time jutsu which literally allowed him to teleport anywhere he placed his seal on, could not harmonize the two parallel chakras. He originally created the Rasengan as a first step towards the even higher goal of perfect unification of ultimate space manipulation (Rasengan) and highest level of nature manipulation. Unfortunately, the genius Hokage deemed the enterprise as impossible. Naruto, with his uncanny ability to use his strengths to defeat any obstacle, surpassed his father's jutsu by using two clones – one to hold the form together and the other to infuse the wind chakra.

Now, he knew that he was just being reckless. Not even using his left hand to help keep the dense hurricane contained, it would only be a matter of time before it would be released. Similar to mixing oil and water together but at a critically explosive velocity, he struggled at the edge of control. Yet, as the ever increasing high-pitched whine of swirling chakra started harmonizing, Naruto knew that he would see this attempt through to the end.

Leaves rustled and the wind howled, enslaved by the mini hurricane in his palm. All the energy in the area was moving, and it was at this time when Naruto's universe froze. Between the blurred razor-thin blades of wind chakra, twin moons regarded him and with their gravity, they pulled on Naruto's heartstrings.

'_She noticed me._' That was the last thought he had.

-/-

Naruto woke up to soft caresses along his forearm. Smelling the intimately familiar scent of the antiseptic medicine, its poignancy lifted the fog from his brain. His body told him that he was wet, soaked actually, and judging by the way Hinata's damp hair clung to her face and neck, she probably jumped into the river to save him.

Her eyes regarded him coolly, almost dispassionately, and Naruto was at a loss for words. He openly stared up at her not knowing what to do. Usually, Naruto could feel the warmth, a willingness to help, a friend's special trust, from just looking at her face. Unfortunately, it dawned on him that he could not see any emotion, not even anger. She never spoke, nor moved, and her soft breaths hinted at the voice which he so desperately wanted to hear.

With a loud sigh, Naruto realized that he was staring at the product of his own actions. Guilt riddled him, and was he any less of a man, he would have looked away to avoid the product of his simultaneous destruction and creation.

"Will it heal?" Naruto heard her soft voice for only the second time that day.

Looking more intently into her eyes for a sliver of hope, Naruto immediately remembered Hinata's listless body trembling in the darkness. Thoughts flashed to her whaling pleas and the feel of her heartbeat behind her chest.

"Yeah?" He answered unsure of himself, wondering if he could heal the damage he inflicted upon her.

"Good."

Hinata is not a cruel person, which is why her following actions were all the more pernicious. She gingerly placed his arm upon his stomach. Then, silently and with an unmerciful measure of delicacy, she removed his head from her lap and placed it against his folded jacket. So shocked was he by her kindness, that all he could do was stare as Hinata walked away.

'_I guess she was talking about my arm,'_ Naruto thought as he inspected her work. His arm was not too bad, he realized, and one good night's rest would take care of the wound. He could have gotten up and gone home, or even caught the dinner rush at Ichiraku Ramen with Konohamaru. Instead, he decided to lay there and think about Hinata. He listened to the river's rush again, and wondered how he got caught up in all of this. Naruto contemplated his friend for so long that over time the swaying verdant canopy above him turned into a moving black veil, blocking the stars and containing him in darkness.

It was not until the sun rose that he finally had a reason to get up. Ignoring the healing warmth of the sun, he smiled brightly on the walk home to change his clothes, freshen up, and eat something before he came back here again. Through the thick mist of his tired thoughts, he remembered something important; something that gave him hope and guarded him from despair.

'_She's still wearing the flower_.'

-/-/-

A few days passed without incident. Despite Hinata's abrupt departure, she came back each day to the training grounds, and worked diligintly on her jutsu. The two never spoke about the incident at the river, nor the one at the festival. Instead, Naruto gave her space which unexpectedly helped to scab over the wounds, and eventually, the two settled into a comfortable, if not silent, routine.

This was fine at first. However, Naruto could not help his playful nature. Literally breaking the unspoken truce, he attempted to break the ice with some jokes about the weather or small-talk concerning training routines. Although Hinata did not ignore him completely, her dispassionate expression conveyed all she had to say.

As per their routine, Naruto trained near Hinata. Today, he was practicing to become one with nature, a prerequisite to Sennin mode. Sitting still, he did his best to calm his body. First, he relaxed his muscles. Then, he focused on controlling his breathing. Naruto knew it was a process to slow his breathing so he spent a great deal of time gradually using less and less breaths. The next step involved slowing his heartbeat. Once the body becomes used to needing less air, the heart typically follows suit.

However, as Naruto focused on his heart, it would not calm. In fact, the more concentration he gave it, the louder it became. In these circumstances, the trick would be to find the rhythm of his heartbeats and listen to its cycle. Once the melody was figured out, he could listen to it and sort of lull his body to rest. Yet, there seemed to be no pattern to it. It was loud and obtuse, and gradually the cacophony reverberated throughout his body. Similar to being locked in a tight room with a deaf and dumb drummer, the sound started to overwhelm him.

Finally, Naruto could not take it anymore, and opened his eyes. Just as the scenery rushed back into his vision, the dissonance mercifully faded from his ears. He was momentarily surprised, however, to hear the rhythm of his pounding heartbeat outside his meditation.

Lub-Dub, Lub, Lub, Dub-Dub, Thump, Dub.

Naruto followed the sounds to its source.

Punch-Kick, Double-Punch, Kick, Jump, Land, Kick.

Naruto watched Hinata train from behind, taking in every detail from the deliberate forcefulness of her punches, to the quick kicks, followed by the subtle landing of her feet. He marveled at her hair and how wind or the chakra or maybe even some feminine secret swept it beautifully to match her fighting set. It never once swirled around her face to blind her, or got caught around her arm. Instead, it moved exactly where it needed to, counteracting perfectly with the momentum of the strikes.

'_Maybe they teach this at the academy_,' Naruto wondered.

When Hinata did a round-house kick and landed to face Naruto, the peeping tom immediately closed his eyes. Switching to his auditory sense, he now listened to her movements, imagining her arms and legs through the sounds they were making. Anticipating the turn, Naruto opened his eyes when it seemed like she was facing away from him.

When he opened them, he saw Hinata facing him, arms folded squarely around her chest, with a stern look on her face.

Childishly, Naruto closed his eyes anyway while unsuccessfully stifling his simper.

When Hinata spoke, he imagined her moving lips.

"Are you going to train or are you going to peep at me all day?"

Even though Naruto knew he was in trouble, his smile still widened. "I was only looking at you because I knew you were watching me," he fibbed.

"Wha-what, I mean, Na-naruto-kun, ho-how did you know?"

"I didn't, but I do now." Usually, Naruto would have worn his largest and widest grin in triumphant mocking of his victory. This time, however, he only smiled sheepishly in a cute but humble manner, as a peace offering.

He was not surprised when Hinata turned around again. He could not help but keep grinning, however, because one her Byakugan was activated, and two, because her cheeks were tomato red.

When evening usurped day, and the two left their training ground, Naruto carelessly asked Hinata if she wanted to grab some ramen. And just like the day, all of his progress with Hinata dissolved, just as the sun's last glimmer of hope fades into the night.

Naruto watched in slow motion as Hinata's smile vanished into her stony frown. He then saw her feign an excuse while protectively holding her arms.

"No, um, Naruto-kun, ah, I-I-I not hunger, I mean…"

He then heard Hinata's stomach rumble, which Naruto hoped was a result of nervousness and hopefully not from inadvertently fasting the entire day.

"…no thank you."

Before, he could reply, she escaped without saying goodbye.

-/-/-/-

Konohamaru walked along the dirt path towards the training ground. He finally had the day off to see his older siblings. It had been awhile, about half a week, since he talked to Naruto the morning after the festival, and hoped that everything was okay between Hinata and him.

After turning the bend, he punched the red bark of the Sugi Tree for good luck, and then smiled as he saw a young woman with long lavender hair and a purple jumpsuit sift through her a small backpack.

Upon seeing his older sister and her ensuing simper of recognition, he ran over to her and gave her a big hug.

"It's been awhile. How are you, Oneechan?"

"I'm okay."

"That's good." He then sat next to her on the big rock which was lounging in the shade. "Where's Naruto-oniichan?"

"Oh, he should be here already," she replied, "but obviously he's running a little late."

"Good, so I have some time," he said more to himself than to Hinata.

"For what, Konohamaru?"

"I just want to know how you are really doing, Oneechan." Grinning, Konohamaru countered her bewildered face and almost trembling lip with his hopefully disarming smile.

"Well, uh, I already told you—"

"You don't have to say anything, I understand. Naruto-oniichan told me—"

"He told you what happened?"

"No. I mean he only told me that he hurt you."

"Oh…"

As soon as the color flushed from her face, it evaporated, leaving a listless and well practiced doppelganger in its stead. Konohamaru noticed that she was gazing in the distance again, but since Hyuuga do not have pupils, his best guess was that Hinata was watching the leaves or petals on the ground.

"Can I offer you some advice, Oneechan?"

He saw her momentarily hesitate, and then breathe out signaling her acquiescence. "Sure."

"I know he hurt you and I'm not excusing his actions. However, have you considered why he did?"

"Because he thought I betrayed him…"

Konohamaru barely heard her whisper in the light breeze.

"Yes, that and?"

Konohamaru let the wind talk for awhile. He knew that opening wounds was not kind, and doing it do others was painful. For a long time he cringed whenever someone talked about either his murdered grandfather or uncle. But, his sensei taught him that some wounds needed to be opened to heal properly. He could never forget the lesson, or the pain, for he learned it when his sensei snapped his dislocated finger back into place.

"Oneechan, I mean why you specifically—"

"Yes, why me?" Hinata's soft but quick words cut through the wind. "Konohamaru, what are you trying to say?"

Konohamaru cringed from her venomous but understandable response. He chose his next words carefully.

"What I mean is I don't think this was the first time he's been hurt. We all know how the villagers treated him while growing up."

Not hearing any whispers in the wind, Konohamaru took this as a sign to continue. "And did he take any action against them? What about his best friend, Sasuke? Ebisu-sensei told me that he almost killed Naruto-oniichan."

Konohamaru saw Hinata clench her fist on her pants. Unbeknownst to him, he struck a very deep nerve.

"Konohamaru—"

"Yet, this is the first time I've ever known him to show any real anger towards anyone in Konoha," he blurted out quickly before his lost his chance to say what he needed to say. "Oneechan, do you understand yet?"

"Please, Konohamaru, that's enough."

"What I'm trying to say is that I think the reason why he treated you like that is—"

"Please! I know what you're trying to say…but that's enough. I don't want to hear it anymore."

"I'm sorry, Oneechan. I-I just wanted to help."

"I know…"

The two friends sat there for an indeterminable amount of time. Konohamaru stared at his toes, thinking that he was incredibly stupid for butting himself into their business. Instead of doing good, all he managed to accomplish was to resurface old wounds, and make his older sister mad at him.

'_Maybe I should just take a step back_,' he thought echoing his sensei's current lesson that he selectively chose to ignore. Always trying to emulate Naruto, Konohamaru wanted to be the hero and the leader, and would assert himself during missions. Ebisu has told him many times that he needed to consider the team's dynamic and welfare before his own selfish needs.

Legs swinging and lost in thought, Konohamaru started getting used to the silence. While reflecting on personal improvements for his next mission, he felt a nudge.

He looked up to see a sympathetic smile on Hinata's face.

"And just when did you become so smart," she teased. "You're nothing like Naruto-kun."

"Actually, I am," Konohamaru beamed back at her. "I'm just not stupid like him."

The two friends laughed. Abrupt, but desperately needed, they laughed to ease away the tension. It would have worked too had they not heard another voice.

"I heard that," Naruto said. Konohamaru, despite being caught, giggled anyway.

Joining in on their private joviality, he said, "Don't let him fool you, Hinata. This kid is actually a genius."

"That's right," the genius said triumphant. "I'm awesome!"

"Yup, who would have thought that within this young ninja, lies not only the power to defeat very powerful enemies, but to control them too with perverted ninjitsu."

"I bet Jiraiya-jiji said the same thing about you once too."

Naruto's ears turned red and both brothers stared each other down, but in the end he guffawed and soon his infectious chuckle spread to both boys. Even Hinata could not suppress a smile.

The laughter died down to be replaced with the sound of a strong breeze filling through the trees. As an afterthought, Naruto said, "But seriously, Hinata, this kid is a genius. Besides learning the Kage Bunshin and the Rasengan, he even defeated one of Pein's bodies."

Hinata tensed slightly. Most probably Naruto did not notice, but Konohamaru saw her eyes shift to the ground. Konohamaru knew that most of the Konoha shinobi did not like hearing how he, a mere kid, killed one of Pein's bodies. He often wondered himself how men and women, scores of ninjas of elite status and fame, were defeated by one of Pein's vile clones, and yet he managed to singlehandedly destroy one. Most of them, the men especially, congratulated him to his face but when they thought he was not looking, the prideful ninjas either murmured to each other or gave him cold stares. Konohamaru wondered if Hinata was the former or the latter.

He looked up when he felt a soft pat on his leg.

"I'm proud of you," she said with a sincere smile of pure admiration.

He must not have noticed how long he was staring, with a wide open mouth, for Naruto said, "Wow. I tell the kid that he's a genius and he doesn't care. But have Hinata pat his leg and he blushes." In actuality, Konohamaru was not blushing but his brother's words somehow made it true.

Cheeks red, he did his best to work his way though the embarrassment.

"So, Hi-hinata Onii, er, I mean Oneechan and Oniichan, what are you guys doing today?"

Naruto smirked, then answered, "We're training together. With my speed and Hinata's Byakugan, we're going to simulate a hunt and capture mission."

"Cool, sounds like fun, how are you guys doing it?"

"Well, I'll be the enemy ninja. I just captured some valuable intelligence and am returning to my village. Hinata is the pursuer hot on my tail. She will be the one to catch up and, um…" Naruto cleared his throat, "capture me, preferably without killing or maiming me."

"I'll do my best," Hinata chimed in solemnly which made Naruto swallow and Konohamaru laugh.

"So, let me get this straight," Konohamaru said once he calmed himself. "You're going to run away and do your best not to be found?" He waited for Naruto's affirmation which seemed silly in its boasting cleverness. "And I assume you're also going to get a head start?"

"Obviously!"

"So you two are playing _hide-and-go-seek_?" Konohamaru smiled lasciviously. Judging by Hinata's small chuckle and his brother's red face, it was Naruto who came up with the _training exercise_.

"Hey! It's a good training exercise. I hear Hinata's Byakugan is almost as good as Neji's and it's not everyday you get…" Naruto trailed off because his younger brother could not possibly hear his explanation over his own roaring laughter.

"Would you like to join us, Konohamaru?"

"I would love to, Oneechan, but my team has a _real_ mission today." In Konohamaru's mind there was almost nothing as sweet as making fun of Naruto.

"Okay, Squirt, well you'll be missing out. Have fun chasing dogs around the village."

"It's a cat this time, thank you very much." It was Naruto's turn to grin while Konohamaru blushed again. Before he could react, Naruto wisely retreated, wishing him luck in his _important _mission. The two brothers warmly bid each other farewell, which is to say they glared at each other while tossing insults back and forth until Naruto turned the bend, punched the Sugi tree for good luck, and fled into the forest.

Satisfied with the outcome of the verbal duel, Konohamaru then plopped down next to his sister.

"Oneechan?" He asked. "If what Naruto-oniichan said is true about your range, you know being as a good as Neji-san's range, a Jounin, then why aren't you out on more missions.

"Interesting," she replied not saying anything but just looking down at him. Konohamaru blurted out a "what" to ward of the blush which almost showed again.

"You never got the chance to answer my question. Since when did you become so perceptive?" She nudged him again for good measure.

The younger brother looked away to give himself time to think. How could he tell her that his skill derived from his passion of turning into the most gorgeous and sexy woman possible? He trusted Hinata implicitly, but because she was a girl, his male instincts told him to avoid telling her the truth.

"Oneechan," Konohamaru quickly created a lie, "compared to Naruto-oniichan, anyone seems smart." He then laughed nervously, gauging to see if she believed him. Fortunately, other than a slight narrowing of her eyes, she let the matter pass and instead changed the subject.

"Due to Kurenai-sensei's pregnancy, Team Eight has all but split and each of us has been training and doing missions with our own clans. Kiba-kun has been doing missions with his okaasan and oneechan, while Shino-kun mostly trains with his otoosan."

"Well what about you?"

Konohamaru saw Hinata smile a little, not a happy one, but the kind one shows in pain but wants to express bravery instead.

"It's a little complicated with my family, Konohamaru, but I train anyway. A ninja must always be ready right?"

"Right!"

Through the mass of lazy clouds, sunlight filtered to graze upon the strands of Hinata's hair, caressing her with its ever-warming touch. She was thankful for the gift because despite the heat, she still felt like shivering. Almost subconsciously, her hand touched the flower behind her ear for reassurance.

"It's noon already?" Konohamaru yelled staring up at the sun above him. "Oneechan I gotta go."

He then got up and was about to bolt away, when he heard his sister calling for him.

"Yeah?"

Hinata smiled warmly. "Thank you for the flower."

"What flower?"

"Silly, this one here." She then gently removed it and placed it in her palm.

"Oh, that one. It's very pretty and I was wondering how you got it, but I didn't give it to you. Who gave you that idea?"

"Naruto-kun told me…" she said barely above a whisper but nobody could hear it in the wind.

"Sorry, Oneechan," Konohamaru said sympathetically. He was really anxious and literally hopping from one foot to the other. "I'm late and Ebisu-sensei is seriously going to kill me this time." He gave Hinata one last smile and then ran away as fast as possible.

When the sun hid behind the clouds, Hinata did not shiver. Instead, she clenched her fists and abruptly stood up. If she did not instinctively place the flower back over her ear, she would have crushed it in her trembling fists. But then again, at this point, she would have hardly cared.

"Byakugan!"

-/-/-/-/-

"It's not true!" Sachi whined to her friend. "It's not the legend of the Symbiotic Insects."

"It is!" Leiko shot back. "Read this line here."

"I have. Many times! And I'm telling you that it's talking about the legend of the Careful Concubine."

"No, it's not." She then turned to the quiet girl. "Who's right, Hinata? Sachi or me?"

"I-uh-well-um-I-don't—"

"Come on, Hinata, it's obvious I'm right."

"What's going on here?" asked their annoyed sensei. Not only were they late for class, but they were also not working on their exercises!

"Bara-sensei, Sachi's wrong. It's not the Careful Concubine, but she won't believe me. I'm just trying to help her win some stupid cont—"

"It's not stupid and it is the Careful Concubine!"

"Enough, both of you!" said Kiken Bara, a shrewd and wily veteran of the Third Ninja War. The sensei had a delicate commission, for she had to train young girls to become Kunoichi, female ninjas, and their formative training was a unique supplement different from the boys. She was like a rose, beautiful and deceptively delicate on the outside, but full of deadly thorns if one did not know how to handle her. Knowing full well the bickering of little girls, especially _these_ two little girls, she decided to show her thorns.

"Enough!" she roared, reminiscent of her time as a platoon leader. Suddenly, it became silent as all of the class' attention was trained on her. "What are you arguing about? Sachi, care to answer?" After a moment's pause she swiveled her head dramatically to the right. "Well, Leiko?" asked the sensei. Neither girl spoke from the harsh rebuke. Maybe she should have been more delicate.

"Fine," she said rubbing the ridge of her nose, "Hinata, tell me what they're talking about."

-/-

'_The Legend of the Undying Flower_,' Hinata reminisced about the Kunoichi class early in her academy days. Hinata jumped from branch to branch through the wild untraveled forests outside Konoha. With its picturesque and unspoiled beauty coupled with the songs of the Bush Warbler birds, it would have been a blessed thing to experience.

Hinata could see the pack of flying birds above her and more. From the scurrying of squirrels on a tree far to the right, countless worms and other insects in the soil below her, and even a deadly snake only three branches ahead of her, she could view and contemplate them all at the same time. The catch was that Hinata could see them only in gray.

Her Byakugan gave her the gift to see virtually everything all around her, but its price were the colors, vibrant and beautiful. One of her clansmen once described it as watching the world through the eyes of the spirits. In truth, with practice the various shades of gray conveyed almost as much information as a full spectrum of colors, and its strengths and advantages far outweigh any aesthetic weakness. However, what currently bothered Hinata was not the hindered appreciation of the scenery, but the fact that she did see color, or at least she thought she did.

Naruto was still too far ahead of her Byakugan's range, and yet the sloppy trail he left for her to follow lit up her vision like a sun-streaked yellow, haphazardly placed on every branch he jumped, every leaf he brushed by, and even throughout the air that he breathed; tiny wisps dotting the breeze.

'_His eyes are blue too_,' Hinata thought trying to remember if his eyes were still the color of the summer sky even while her vision was filled with gray. The thought of them instinctively brought her hand back up to the flower.

'_Strong and healthy,_' she thought surprised that it lived this long.

And yes, it had color too.

-/-

"The Legend of the Undying Flower is a story I heard when I was _your_ age," the sensei told her students. "Sachi, did your oneechan tell you the story?"

"No, I never heard of that one."

"It's not surprising. Classical literature is not taught at the academy, and typically only hobbyists and members of the elite Konoha clans actually learn them."

Bara then checked the time and saw a great teaching opportunity. "The others are doing their exercises, unlike you three, so instead of allowing you to keep goofing off; I'm going to share with you the story of _The Undying Flower_."

"Why!," Leiko said rolling her eyes. "I'm a shinobi! I don't need to hear stupid stories about mythological flowers. I should be learning about poisons and remedies, not things that don't exist!"

The sensei sighed audibly. Leiko was one of those foolhardy ninjas who wanted to do all the so-called _fun_ training like the boys. '_Well soon enough_,' she thought to herself. '_You'll be training with them, going to missions with them, and maybe, although I pray not, one day even dying along side them_.'

"Enough!" she said using more _thorns _than tact. "You'll learn all those things soon enough, Ojou-chan. However, until then, you will learn the lessons I teach you, and if I hear that disrespectful tone again I will make you write a scroll's length on the importance of folklore for reconnaissance missions."

The sensei then turned to encompass all three girls in front of her. "Stories and legends tell a lot about a village's culture. This is important for infiltration missions where it is vital to blend in with the people. Even you young and untrained girls would immediately know an outsider if they did not know who Senju Hashirama-sama or Senju Tobirama-sama was, or even how Konoha was founded.

"Furthermore, blending is vital to reconnaissance or even infiltration missions where you have to garner information from the people you're trying to blend in with. You'll learn all this later but let me tell you one important thing."

She then looked straight at Leiko and said, "Listening is vital to intelligence gathering. Listening is so important that it can be as effective as any man-made toxin ever was. The way a person talks or the way he interprets ideas or concepts lets you know if he is intelligent, kind, quick to anger, perceptive or dumb, or even if he's watching you.

"Do you understand?" Two of the girls uniformly said yes while Leiko murmured something under her breath. Bara let the rude act go, and was honestly just happy that Leiko would be subdued for the time being.

The sensei then glanced at her watch again. "Now look what you girls made me do. I've rambled on for too long. Okay, well I'll have to make this quick then." She sat down on the grass, cross-legged, in front of the girls. For dramatic effect, she plucked a Dandelion from the ground, or at least she thought it was, but it was actually just a common weed. Annoyed, but trying to look dignifying, she casually tossed the strand away.

'_At least one of the girls found that amusing_,' she thought, looking to Sachi's angelic smile.

"Sachi, the truth is your contest is misleading. The Undying Flower is not a native story of Konoha, for each of the five major ninja villages claim this story as their own. Once, I almost blew my team's cover once near _Sunagakure_ when I became outraged to hear the story of the Undying Flower as one of "their" most popular legends! In fact, after all my travels, it seems each country has at least a few variations of it.

"Anyway, back before the five great elemental countries were founded, there were numerous tribes and villages. It was a time of chaos because peace and war reigned throughout the land, and while one village was prosperous and happy, another not too far away from them could have the longest and bloodiest war in their history.

"There was a nomadic tribe who called themselves the Tekioo. Unlike warring tribes such as the Uchiha and the Senju who captured territory and then had to defend it against other tribes, the Tekioo utilized adaptation. They stayed in a place so long as it had ample food, shelter, and most importantly peace. Mountains, forests, oceans, deserts, it did not matter as long as they were not bothered with war.

"There was a girl, Sachi I will call her in honor of you, for nobody remembers her name and it was always fun to make one up. Sachi-san was a young lady probably around the same age as your oneechan. She was one of the unfortunate ones, of her generation, who lived in an age of strife where fighting was at no end. Every time they moved, they were harassed by raiders and they had no choice but to quickly learn to defend themselves with trained warriors.

"Now, can you girls guess why Sachi-san was so famous?"

"Was it because she could talk to animals and spirits?" asked the dark haired girl.

Leiko answered, "I bet it's because she was a better fighter than all the men!"

"Actually," Bara replied, "it's because of how happy she was. You see it was during this time that she was in love—"

"Yuck! I cannot believe that this is a love story…I mean…" Leiko's outburst wavered under the gaze of her sensei, "…I'm sorry."

"As I was saying, during this time of strife it was virtually impossible to see anyone so carefree. Her lover was a tribesman just like her, and after meeting they were inseparable. In fact, their happiness was so contagious even the elders, constantly focusing on keeping their tribe safe, could not help but smile in their presence.

"And just like Sachi-san, nobody knows the man's name. Why don't we give him a name?"

"Oh oh, how about Sasuke!"

"That's stupid, Sachi, if you're going to use a name like _Sasuke_ then why don't you just name him Naruto," Leiko said to her friend.

"Excuse me, but Sasuke is not _Naruto_. Sasuke is smart, handsome, and dreamy whereas Naruto is stupid, gross, and most of all annoying!"

"Um-um, I-I don't th-think that Na-na-naruto is such a bad…" the quiet, almost all but forgotten girl, said.

"Sasuke or Naruto, I don't care. Just give him a name so we can get this story over with!" her friend yelled back frustrated.

"Enough!" The sensei forgot just how tiresome young female bickering can be. "I'll name him after someone from _my_ generation. I'll call him Minato. Now where was I? Oh yes, Sachi-san and Minato. They had a secret location that nobody else could find and rarely anyone knew about. People in the Wind country will tell you that it was an oasis perilously far from civilization, and I heard some villagers in the water country say that the lover's paradise was actually an uncharted island somewhere in the sea.

"As for us, the people of Konoha say that it was a secluded meadow hidden in a valley protected by ancient trees and tall mountains. It was in this special spot where Sachi-san and Minato could escape the constant strife and battles. However, neither one would forsake their duties to their clan.

"During their last night together, Minato told Sachi-san that he was going to war. The Tekioo tribe did their best to avoid open and constant battle, but these raiders were notoriously persistent, and the elders thought it better to set-up permanent fortifications rather than be vulnerable on the move."

"She cried didn't she, Sensei," Leiko said accusingly. "All the girls in these old stories cry."

"Actually, no." Their teacher then paused and surveyed the beautiful hills and flowers around them.

"Minato plucked a flower from the ground and gave it to her. '_To help you remember,'_ was all he said to her. '_To help you remember_.' Then he kissed her and…well Sachi-san would always remember the way Minato looked as he disappeared behind the trees."

"How romantic."

"Are you kidding me, Sachi? He left her with a flower. A flower! At the very least, he could have given her something useful like a letter or even a promise to return."

"Wow, Leiko, a letter or a _promise_? I didn't know you were quite the romantic," the sensei said with a big catlike grin.

Behind a red face, Leiko managed to stammer, "Well, n-no, what I mean is something that would live longer than a few days. According to you he plucked the flower right there in front of her."

"Very astute, Leiko. Listening and paying attention is how you can catch inconsistencies which will throw a person off guard and will lead to more information. However, for now, just keep what you said in mind.

"The next few years were hard for everyone in the clan. The few men, who remained, mostly the elderly or the boys, were on guard duty or were training for war. The women, aching for their loved ones, worked diligently to provide food for the tribe, took care of the wounded, and generally kept the village going. Anytime it became really tough, Sachi-san would go back home and gaze longingly at her flower.

"One night, an elite group of warriors snuck in past the sentries. As I already mentioned, back in that time, wars were fought out in the open and armies were easy to spot, which would mean more time to prepare for battle. However, this time they were caught unawares as these shadow warriors came in the silence of night. Needless to say, chaos ensued. Huts burned, children and soldiers were cleaved alike, and in the confusion and aftermath, the tribesmen realized that their women were taken. The lucky ones were overlooked or too heavily defended. Sachi-san was not one of the lucky ones."

The sensei told that part somberly just as it was told to her when she was a child. And just like her predecessors, she also paused before going on. Hinata was quiet. It was hard to read her reaction, but her pupil-less eyes did momentarily go large before looking off into the distance as if reliving some personal tragedy. After Sachi's audible gasp, she reflexively reached for her friend's hand. Leiko's other hand was clenched in a fist and threatened to pound a hole in the ground.

"A few days later," Bara continued gravely, "Tekioo's pursuing party caught up to the raiders. Lead by their experienced scouts, unparalleled in skill for their knowledge of their environment, they overtook the raiders and laid a trap for them."

"Good!" Leiko yelled while slapping her hands together in triumph.

"Indeed. The raiders were annihilated and the women were rescued but not before…it was the hardest time for the village. The elders bolstered their borders, even recalling some of their soldiers back home to take care of their loved ones. However, it did not end the crying in the night, nor the silent tears in the day. More than a few took their lives adding to the tragedy of the already grief stricken village."

"What happened to Minato?" the dark haired girl asked with tears in her obsidian eyes.

"Minato did not come back. Some stories say that he could not be found. One village in the Wind Country said that Minato in fact did get the message to return home, but his company was far and stuck behind the worst sand storm ever seen. After one week and with no sign of it getting better, he braved the storm only to never be seen again. Interestingly, some people have claimed to see him still braving the worst sand storms, trying to reach his love.

"Anyway, Sachi-san did not cry. In fact, if someone did not know her before the war, they would not think anything amiss. She helped as much as any woman in her village did, never missing any of her chores, and often doing more to make up for the other families' losses. It was obvious, however, to the other villagers that something was wrong because she never laughed again, whereas when Minato was home, everyone in the village could hear her ringing light-hearted humor. Furthermore, she spoke only when spoken to, and smiled just enough for others to let her be. Most of all her free time was spent in her room in front of her flower."

"Why, sensei?"

"Good question, Sachi. Maybe it reminded her of better times. Maybe it reminded her of Minato. Her friends spent time with her, either sitting with her or inviting her to do other activities. Sachi-san never pushed them away or was ever rude to them, but their actions did not change anything. At the end of the day, or whenever she had free time, she returned to her vigil. In fact, people found her asleep by the flower.

"That's stupid!" shouted her student, annoyed.

"Tell me this, Leiko," she said, attempting to curtail her sudden fury, "have you or your family ever been stricken with tragedy so awful that nothing seems to make it better? No? And you want to be a Kunoichi!" Bara roared, ignoring the concerned faces of all her students. "Do you understand that once you're a shinobi that you WILL see tragedy and horrors equal or worse to what Sachi-san and her village experienced! And you want to go out there, and just like all the boys, pound all our enemies into dust!"

The sensei was seething. Her heart-shaped face was flushed a rose red and despite the mellow weather, sweat poured down her ruddy neck. A veteran of at least a dozen major engagements at the Iwa Theater of War, Bara lost a husband, brother, and countless other friends and comrades.

The sensei struggled to keep her breathing under control. She rarely loss her temper and the last time was years ago when some drunk tried to blame the 4th Hokage for the death of his parents.

'_If it were not for Yondaime – Minato – then I would be dead right now instead of instructing, no preparing, young girls for a hard life,_' she thought allowing his vital memory to calm her.

She then looked at her three students and was not surprised that even Leiko looked scared.

"Oh wow, well look at how much time has passed," she said completely embarrassed, "it's about time for you children to head home. I'll see you again tomorrow."

"Wait, sensei," said a quiet plea. She then turned around and was surprised to see who was talking to her.

"Please, we would like to hear the rest of the story," Leiko said, followed by synchronized head bobs from both Sachi and Hinata.

Their teacher, shocked in amazement by their unanimous gestures, was uncharacteristically speechless. Fortunately, she was spared further humiliation when she realized who she was and then quickly put up her prickly guard.

"Well," she said pointedly, pretending like nothing happened, "listen carefully for this is a very important lesson I am about to teach you. No matter and I repeat no matter, what happens to you, life goes on. Do you understand me? Strife, love, war, death, all of it can happen and yet life will still move forward.

"This is something Sachi-san came to realize. The war ended, soldiers came home, and lives continued. Gradually, she decreased her vigils until finally all she needed was a mere glance at her flower, and it was enough to keep her going. Many years Sachi-san waited for her lover to return to her. Scouting parties were dispatched to find the loved ones who were still missing, but there was no sign of Minato."

"What did she do, Sensei?"

"Sachi, remember what I said earlier about life moving on? Although her heart was broken she kept living. It was a time of peace and just like in the spring, happiness and good-feeling flourished throughout the village. Eventually, Sachi-san got married and lived a happy and long life with many children.

"And, Leiko coming back to the point you brought up earlier, when she passed away, her children buried her with her flower, the same one her lover gave to her a lifetime ago."

Bara then nonchalantly clapped her hands together and said, "The end."

"Se-sensei?"

"Yes, Leiko?"

"Is-is that it? I mean no offense but that's kind of…well not the ending I was expecting."

"Yeah," her friend backed her up, "after all the trouble I thought the story would be more…um…"

"Satisfying?"

"I guess."

"Here's another lesson. Sometimes legends, stories, whatever, do not have proper endings. Just as there are many variations of the story throughout our world, there are ten times many more interpretations. When I was younger, half the fun was discussing what the story meant."

"I don't get it. You said that Minato never came home, but the flower survived?"

"Yes, Leiko."

"Wait, so Minato gave Sachi-san a flower before he left her, but somehow, even though the flower _miraculously _lived all those long years, he essentially died?"

"Again, yes Leiko."

"Sensei, then what's the point of the stupid flower?"

"You tell me," she replied evenly.

-/-

"True love," Hinata whispered fiercely against the wind rushing against her face. Of course, at the time she was too shy to answer her sensei's question, but she always thought the Legend of the Undying Flower meant true love. When she was younger, she imagined Sachi-san's lover coming back to her, and then the two living a long and happy life together. Of course, although she would be too embarrassed to admit it to anyone, she sometimes fantasized Naruto giving her a flower.

'_A flower like the one I'm wearing_,' she thought as her heart constricted. Almost immediately, she gritted her teeth and shook the disturbing thoughts away.

Finally, Naruto was just within rage of her Byakugan. She called out to him to get him to stop, and it was not until after that she realized her folly. Naruto instead of heeding her command took it as a warning and ran even faster.

This chase, this fool's game, continued all day until finally Hinata saw him start to slow. Emotions already boiling, the thought of Naruto slowing down should have given her some relief, but it only served to make her angrier because she thought that he might be giving her a chance to catch up.

"_He better not be slowing down on my behalf,_' she thought. She knew that she was not fast enough to truly catch him, probably nobody in Konoha was, and in Hinata's mind she imagined Naruto laughing and thinking that this was a great game.

Her enmity blinded her though, for her eyes saw something else. Instead of smiles, there was instead determination etched on his sweaty face. In place of laughs, heavy panting escaped from his mouth, and Hinata should have registered the obvious signs of exertion.

Hinata half expected Naruto to stop and say something stupid to her like, _you caught me Hinata!_ Yet, he still fruitlessly kept going despite the fact that she was only a few meters behind him. She could have yelled, could have demanded him to stop, said the game was over, but she was too angry by then.

She reached out her hand and seized Naruto's wrist. His ensuing scream immediately made her flinch, but at least he finally stopped running.

Naruto then turned around, crimson colored with exhaustion, barely registering his pursuer with glassy eyes.

"You caught me, Hinata," he slurred.

Then with a slight chuckle and a smirk, Naruto fainted.

-/-/-/-/-/-

"Sleep, he needs sleep," Hinata thought as she stared into the flames. The dancing orange and maroon sprites mocked her, their frenetic intensity serving to remind her of her chaotic day. She chased Naruto for hours through bogs, forests, rivers, and finally up into the mountains.

'_How could I have known_,' Hinata thought feeling ashamed, betrayed, and angry all at the same time. Her face was devoid of emotion however, a practice honed recently, but the reflection of the fire danced in her pale lavender eyes.

She felt like this now, but not before; not when Naruto fainted. All Hinata felt then was intense worry mixed with determination, so much so, that every molecule in her body went into action. She carried his dead-weight all the way to a meager clearing, and then quickly found timber and wood to start a fire. She even gingerly treated and dressed his wound, the same one he recklessly received a few days ago, but now it seems an infection has spread up his forearm, causing Naruto intense pain.

'_I bet it's why he could not sleep and get better,_' she reasoned, all the while praying to the spirits that Naruto would be okay. If not, Hinata knew that she would bring Naruto to a hospital, and carry him if need be.

By the time she finished setting up the camp, the moonless night surrounded her. The wind died down and the only sounds she heard were the soft splintering of burning wood. Well, that and her heartbeat thumping in her ears.

Hinata cradled Naruto's head, resting it on her bent knees. She placed Naruto's arms across his middle, and held onto his bandaged arm, justifying her actions by telling herself that the injury needed to be attended to more closely. Furthermore, although she did not want to admit it, her touch was the only thing that stopped his thrashing and groaning.

It was not long until her finger started tracing circles along his wrist. She could not help herself, for the the only thing that mattered to her was taking care of the boy who broke her heart. The fire cast shadows on his skin, making it seem as if he was responding to her healing touch. His feverish groans which echoed earlier while she gathered supplies, turned to soft snores as she watched the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest.

Hinata studied Naruto's serene face, tracing the length of his jawline. Her gaze lazily zigzagged through the whisker marks upon his cheeks, to his cute-button nose, and then up along his ridge to his hair. Hinata noticed how Naruto's wild and spiky hair, just seemed to conform and naturally fall upon her lap.

When her eyes lingered on Naruto's eyelids, she remembered their sky-blue intensity and the way it used to make her heart thump wildly and mouth stammer with each passing glance. For one night, those same eyes looked upon her with kindness and compassion.

'_I think he…actually liked being with me,_' she thought to herself recalling the bitterly repressed memory of the rice fields. Sudden tears pooled in her eyes when she remembered how those same irides looked at her with nothing but hatred and contempt.

"I am not weak," she whispered to herself, "I will not cry."

To steady herself, she fled to the other side of the fire, putting it between her and Naruto, ignoring his groans and unconscious thrashes. Hinata then drew her legs inward and held them for warmth and protection. She repeated her mantra of, "I am not weak, I will not cry," until the words were forgotten, the lips stopped moving, and her eyelids succumbed to the lull of the dancing flames.

-/-

"No, Naruto, don't come after me."

"Wait, Okaasan, please wait," he yelled. He crawled on useless legs towards her. It has seemed an eternity that Naruto found himself trapped in the tunnel. Fiery red hair was its ever-moving light source, and between the strands, twin sapphires bore into him. Only a few meters in front of him, they did not illuminate the cave as much as they cast shadows along the walls; shadows that always eluded his guiding hands but haunted him nonetheless.

"I'm sorry, Okaasan," Naruto yelled to her. He did not know why, but it seemed that as far as he could remember, he has been trying to catch up to her, to fix a terrible wrong that drove her away.

Deep in his heart, Naruto knew that he must make amends because he hurt her. This chase continued, much as the same as usual, deeper into the tunnel. It was directionless, neither sloping up nor down, turning, or giving an indication of any change whatsoever. If it were not for Naruto's hands which guided him upon the rocky wall, he would have sworn that he was walking through nothing.

After calling after his mother for the umpteenth time, smoke assaulted his face. Burning his eyes and almost choking him, he starting crawling to avoid passing out.

"Naruto, please," his okaasan called out to him again, "you cannot follow me." Her plea fell on deaf ears for Naruto's legendary stubbornness would never let him stop. Even blinded and choking, he would fix his wrongs.

On he crawled, his belly on the hard floor, barely moving at all, his mother's image burned in his mind.

Amidst his coughs, he heard a soft voice say to him, "It's okay Naruto. Everything will be okay." Focusing on her words, Naruto found a much needed reprieve from the smoke. As if time stood still, he dared to open his eyes to have one last look at her. Sad, forlorn eyes watched him while a chaotic mass of fiery hair waved all around her. He started to say something, some kind of apology, but nothing came out as something grabbed him from behind.

_Whoosh!_

Naruto suddenly found himself flying backwards through the tunnel. He would have been terrified at being taken back into the darkness but the shock of it all paralyzed him. Whereas his chase after his mother was long and arduous, his flight was brief and expedient. Just as he realized that two cool appendages held onto him, he started to feel a sensation which he did not feel in a really long time: elevation.

Backwards Naruto flew, backwards and always higher. Faint light illuminated the walls around him, and just as he exited the mouth, he took one last glance at the dark entrance of the cave in which he was lost in. Wondrous sights dominated his underused sight, so much so, that even the shadows of the moonlit trees seemed bright and clear.

Overcome with all the visual stimuli which were previously robbed from him, Naruto oddly mumbled to himself, "It's going to rain," even though there was not a single cloud in the dotted sky.

Twin appendages laid him to rest on top of a grassy knoll along the river bank. Too comfortable to move, Naruto traced the receding arms back to its source. Up they went, above the canopy, and even beyond the stars, back to the giant moon which now dominated the heavens. Golden it was, almost like a pale sun, and it stared down at Naruto, watching him and protecting him.

Curiously, the moon came closer, and Naruto could not help but notice that as it did so, it also seemed to expand, covering the fragile sky in a type of gloaming. Naruto knew that he should have been scared of the growing spectacle, but strangely, he felt at peace. His lingering suspicions melted away as he heard the moon speak, its melodic rhythm lulling him into a much needed slumber. Over and over he heard it again, barely registering its words and just allowing them to further hypnotize him.

'_I am not weak_…' Naruto's body melted into the grass around him. He still saw the moon even with his eyes closed.

'_I will not_…'

Naruto finally found rest, not noticing the rain drops which lightly pelted his face.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Naruto woke up to the smell of scented flowers. Growing up, he became accustomed to wiping away the unruly strands from his eyes, but he was surprised when what he touched was not the coarse, wild, and oily hair that was his. Instead, it was smooth, light, and, for lack of a better term, orderly.

He opened his eyes to see a girl with a porcelain complexion with full lips sleeping peacefully next to him. Reluctantly letting go of her hand, Naruto reached up to brush back the strands of hair from her face. As his fingers lightly grazed her cheek, Hinata's eyes shot open.

"I, uh, um, well, it's not…" Naruto stammered incoherently spouting nonsensical sentences. Fully awake with adrenaline racing through his body, he tried to seem busy by packing up. It did not take long however to realize that he was trying to break a nonexistent camp, so once he took a deep breath, he turned back to his companion who was still sitting by campfire.

"…good morning, Hinata." As expected, her reply was just her usual solemn stare which Naruto guessed was a mixture of loathing and interest.

"I guess we should head back. Training exercise complete!" he said, with a big overconfident grin. Yet, it seemed even Mother Nature was teasing him as the stillness of the forest only made his awkward stance even more ridiculous. Hinata's glare only made things worse.

"I, uh, we should get going then, thank you, Hinata." Naruto then did an elaborate sweep of the nonexistent campsite, one more time, and turned to walk away.

"Naruto-kun, wait." He dreaded to look at her.

"You lied to me." Naruto turned around. What he saw made his blood freeze. Hinata was standing now with her arm outstretched toward him. In the palm of her hand, like a maiden in a precarious tower, was the flower he gave her.

"You told me Konohamaru gave me this flower." Naruto could not speak, could not even look at her face. He shamefully stared at some uninteresting clump of dirt, dug-up by some animal.

"I thought you _hated_, liars, Naruto-kun." Naruto visibly winced as she just threw back the words that he so vehemently spat in her face, not too long ago.

"But that's besides the point…" He heard Hinata whisper more to herself than to him.

"Naruto-kun, why did you give this flower to me?" Suddenly, the pile of dirt became very interesting to Naruto, and he could see it in a whole new light. It was moist and fresh, and judging by its shape, it could have held some treasure, or also equally true, it could have just been a pile of crap. He saw stems in the mound and wondered if there were petals in there too.

"It's just a flower, Hinata," he whispered delicately.

"Please, Naruto-kun," Hinata said almost sweetly, pitifully. "It's important. I need to know."

"Just cause…" he answered like a six year old. Reluctantly, he moved his attention away from the dirt to the girl who he hurt and who saved him more than once. "I mean I just had to give it to you. I'm sorry that I lied, but you needed to have the flower."

This seemed to take her aback as she digested Naruto's explanation.

"That's it then? There's nothing more to it than that?" After a few moments pause, she continued, "So why did you lie about the flower? Did you think that I was just going to throw it back at your face, or even tear it up in front of you?"

Naruto felt the heat in her voice. He could not help but notice how her left hand trembled, tightly in a fist. It was then that he realized that Hinata seemed perilously close to doing the same with her fight hand. Before he knew it, he had tentatively reached over to her, no towards the flower.

"Oh I see, you want to save the flower. You do not want me to _hurt_ it. I do not understand you, Naruto-kun. You care more about this flower than you do me. Do you want it? You can rescue it from me if you like."

"No, Hinata, you must have it."

"So you'd rather me destroy your precious flower rather than take it back?

"No, you don't understand."

"I understand that you lied to me in order to keep this flower. I understand you care more about it than you do me and are actually trying to protect it _from _me, as if I was some kind of monster." Naruto heard her voice crack.

"Please, Hinata, I'm begging—"

"The way I begged you to listen to me? I wasn't lying then but you did not believe me and hurt me anyway. You said yourself that _it's just a flower_. But I'm not the cruel kind of person that you think I am—"

"Hinata, I never said—"

"You never had to. Your actions told me…you never even apologized…" Naruto watched her whimper and then turn away. Collecting herself, she turned around as if nothing happened.

"Here. You can take the flower back…"

"Hinata, I cannot. I already told you—"

"…or I can keep it but you already know what I am going to do with it."

The interesting pile of dirt crumbled, quickly followed by a curious ant-head poking out and then digging back into the earth. Naruto knew that he had nothing else to say, no other way to convince her. He sighed audibly and then turned around.

"You're right, Hinata, it's just a flower. Keep it," he said with deep resignation. With that he walked away from the meadow, from thing he needed to protect, and the girl he never wanted to leave again.

Crunch!

Naruto stopped walking long enough to wait for the echo to finish spreading his failure. Putting his left foot forward, he dared not to look back else Hinata would see him crying.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"Ahhhhh," Naruto yawned, deep and hardy, into the bright morning, shamelessly being as loud as possible. After his first restful night of sleep in what seemed to be forever, he woke up full of energy, and surprisingly, with clear head. Despite the fact that it was at least a good hour until dawn, Naruto wanted, no needed, to act, to do, to accomplish. What exactly, he did not know, and in fact, it did not come to him until after a morning run through the brisk air.

Unfortunately, once he knew what he had to do, the thought consumed him. Twice he had to sprint back to his room because he forgot something; the first a shirt not soaked in fresh sweat, and second, his right sandal.

Naruto wished that he had someone who could give him advice. He was not good with words, and anything that had to do with women was completely alien to him. In his heart, he knew that he had to apologize, but how? How could he portray the depth of his sorrow so that she would believe him?

He considered buying her a present such as a bouquet of whatever or some candies, but his gut told him that the presents would only make things worse. Even so, he still perused the aisles at the 24-hour convenient store for desperate ideas. After his third round, he discerned that it was well after sunrise, and that he better leave, unless he wanted to apologize for being late as well!

Paying for two deluxe instant-ramens, he instantly grabbed his change and flew out the door. Outside, he did not realize that store owner, hoping to improve the troubled boy's day, gave him some free _Onigiri_, and Naruto thoughtlessly stuffed it into his pocket with his change.

In his haste, he also forgot to buy hot water and a thermos, and it was well in the afternoon before the two could eat lunch.

Now, he casually held the foam cup while his gaze lingered on his sun-burnt toes. It was very hot today and both friends shared the sparse area of shade under a withered tree, whose naked brown branches made up for its lack of leaves.

"Thank you for lunch," he heard Hinata say delicately.

"Yeah, it only took four hours to heat up," he replied absently but unable to keep the sourness out of his voice. Thankfully, Hinata came up with the idea to use the cold river water, and leave the ramen cups in the blistering sun until it was at least warm.

"Well, I wasn't very hungry before," she said a little more cheerfully. "The extra training helped to work-up my appetite."

Naruto scoffed. "If only I was a _Katon_ type like Sasuke, I could have heated up the water instantly…" he trailed off knowing that he just brought up a taboo and unresolved topic between them. Thoughts of him yelling at Hinata, her crying on the floor, and then her subsequent stony mask - always back to the haunting mask - flashed through him. He had to audibly release his breath and then release the pressure in his curled fist.

"Hinata?" he said trying to sound confident before his resolve would crumble.

"Y-yes, Naruto-kun?"

"I'm sorry," he blurted out hopelessly.

"It's okay, really Naruto-kun it's o—"

"No!" he almost yelled while he turned and locked his eyes with Hinata. "No, it's not," he repeated again softly. "I hurt you, Hinata, and you cannot know just how much I wish that I could undo the pain I caused you. You have never been anything but good to me and…"

Naruto gently touched her hand.

"…I consider you my closest friend."

At first, Naruto felt Hinata's soft hand tighten, and then pull away. She turned away from him, and he could not help but inhale the subtle scent of pressed-flowers as her hair hit his face.

"I'm sorry, not just for that night, but for all of this. I should have apologized right away and not waited for the right time, no matter how stupid I could have sounded. I don't have much time and I wasted most of it already."

Well, that was it. He had nothing pertinent left to say and the prolonged silence only bolstered his fears that he may have been too late to fix their friendship.

Naruto removed his hands from her shoulders, a little embarrassed in the fact that he unconsciously put them there. If he let his hands linger for just another moment, he would have realized that the only thing keeping Hinata together was his firm touch.

Instead, he missed the slight trembles in her back, and it was not until he heard her sniffles, that he knew something was wrong.

"Hina—" Naruto was surprised when she threw herself into his arms.

He was momentarily stunned as Hinata cried into his shirt. He held her on his chest; arms wrapped around her shoulders, and cradled her as a parent would a child.

Naruto wished he could do something to ease her pain, and would have given anything to know the right thing to do in this situation. He heard girls cry before as Sakura seemed to always cry. However, this was the first time a girl actually cried _on_ him, and despite it being his fault, she did not recoil from him. Instead, she melted into Naruto as if he was her salvation from her pain, but then she cried even harder! This paradox unsettled Naruto deeply, and he did not know what to do. In the end, he resigned himself to just hold her, letting her exert all the pain he caused her, and in the aftermath Naruto vowed to take care of what was left.

It was the right thing to do.

It got worse before it got better. Hinata cried all her sorrow out, including ones not related to Naruto. It did not help that his patient and comforting arms held her as if encouraging her actions.

When she was all cried out, and all that was left was reflexive trembling, Hinata found herself exhausted. Honestly never feeling as comfortable as she did in Naruto's arms, she fell into a deep and comfortable sleep.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

_'I think the reason why Naruto treated you like that…'_

"Was what?" Hinata called out. She was next to her younger brother on the rock they sat on a not to long ago. She absentmindedly remembered this conversation because there was something important she was trying to tell him, but only that time she would not listen. Now all she wanted in the world was to hear his explanation. She turned her head, but when Konohamaru spoke, the wind blew so hard that it carried his words away.

"What?" She asked again, but the wind blew harder and this time it took him with it. Swiftly, he rode and Hinata followed, calling out for him, wanting him to stay.

She blindly ran until he faded from her vision and the wind engulfed her.

Hinata woke up to the serene sounds of singing Nightingales, and the gentle warmth of the summer air. She then sat up and marveled at the verdant field encompassing her. Its grass was so bright that even the sleepy orange sun paled in comparison. Green protectors surrounded her, the ancient evergreens sheltering her from intruders and enemies. In the heavens, the faint stars gleamed, welcoming her back to their secret paradise.

Hinata closed her eyes, perfectly content with her seemingly reawakened sense of serenity. Exactly, how long she sat on the grassy knoll she would not have cared to say.

It was not until the fickle wind blew strands of her hair across her face that she realized something was odd. First, her hair was chestnut-brown instead of eggplant-colored. Second, her clothing was ancient, belonging to a woman of a nomadic tribe, not a Kunoichi.

And then another soul awakened within her, and Hinata instinctively knew that this paradise did not truly belong to her. This opened another perspective, and she watched her graceful body from the view of the stars as well as from within her own body. The disorientation lasted but a few moments which were quickly replaced with questions about why she was here.

Looking around again, she thought, '_this must be the special place Sachi-san and her lover had before the war_'. Thoughts of her lost love and the brutality of the war overwhelmed her, and suddenly, Hinata remembered that this was somehow wrong. She looked down to her shaking hands with their sinewy texture to see the brittle bone underneath. It was not just her hands, but her entire body felt ponderous and frail.

Raw memories flooded her emotions to the point that she screamed. Paralyzed by the weight of the foreign body, she desperately tried to move, to escape the paradise she was trapped in. The wind, once a gentle breeze, buffeted the deceptively-stable evergreen protectors perilously close towards Sachi, scattering the grass while howling into her ears.

And she was afraid because Sachi knew she would sit here, paralyzed by her memories and stuck in this field with no hope of escape. Sachi would endure, just like before, with a stoic mask and no hope for a bright future.

Alone. Always alone.

-/-

At first, Sachi thought the sensation along her spine was another trick of the cruel wind. Then when it happened again, she carefully turned her head, hoping against hope that she did not imagine the touch.

When she felt a firm squeeze on her hand, she gasped, sucking in multiple breaths as if she had not properly breathed in a very long time. Relief flooded every pore of her being, and once she collected herself she looked up to the bright stars and realized that her oasis was peaceful again.

'_No not my oasis,_' Sachi realized, '_but our oasis._' Tentatively, she trailed the length of his strong forearm up to the face of her rescuer. Angular it was, with etched hard lines from a lifetime of fighting. She placed her hand upon the left side of his cheek, and was surprised at how soft it was. That, and his chocolate colored eyes watched her with compassion.

Sachi knew at once that this man was not the one she married, the one who was the father to her children. However, he was a friend, a lover once, and very dear to her, and in some ways, more so than even her own husband.

She did not know how long they stayed there, hand-in-hand, for the night never fully conquered their little paradise. Yet, the night did come, a hard lesson she learned long ago, and if it was not evident in the sky, then she knew the truth in her heart.

"I'm glad you remembered," was the only thing he said as he gently let go of her hand and stood up to look plaintively at the guardians behind him.

He never said goodbye and farewell, but he never had to, for Sachi instinctively knew that her friend had found peace through her own happiness, and could now go back to the world from which he belonged.

Even so, she could not bear to watch him leave her again. She looked down again and was amazed to see, in the palm of her hand (the one that held his), a flower. Immediately, Sachi felt a wave of tranquility wash over her, and she would have been content in its presence had she not had a burning need to know something.

He almost vanished between the thick foliage of the protectors when she called out to him one more time.

"Why, why did you give me the flower? Please, I must know."

When he turned around, the face was not that of her lover. The hard angular lines softened considerably, and his chocolate eyes turned bright blue but no less compassionate. Naruto then smiled, that one special smile, playful and mischievous, warming and comforting, and reserved solely for her.

"Hinata…" he said smilingly, and the reminder of her name – her true name – washed away her other sense of self. Her hair became longer, finer, and again became the familiar shade of royal-purple. The skin around her hands lost its dark tan, and its sinewy texture released his hold on the fingers, becoming again silky and healthy.

She looked down to the flower and could not help but notice a bright blue-shimmer, the color and magnificence of an ocean wave rushing towards the shore. There was something intimately familiar about its glint, and automatically, she brought her gaze back to the twin oceans of Naruto's eyes.

"…You are the flower."

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Hinata woke up to a pleasant sensation grazing along her arm. She waited a few moments, and felt something trace a warm line from her temple, around and behind her ear, down to her right shoulder, and ending in the middle of her back.

Opening her eyes, she saw Naruto's pupils widen as he watched her. She followed his gaze as his hand traced the length of her hair again.

Seeing that she awoke, Naruto stopped his caressing while his hand was on her ear. Smiling sheepishly, he asked her, "Hiya, Hinata. How are you feeling?"

She just looked at him with owl-like eyes as if she were an injured and captured animal.

"Here," he said sweetly. "You must be hungry. Unfortunately," Naruto pointed to her feet with his eyes, "your ramen spilled while you were crying, but luckily I found this."

Hinata's eyes never left his. He then brought the smashed rice ball to her mouth and pressed it upon her lips. When she did not bite, Naruto tore off a piece – remembering to remove the lint from his pocket - and brought it back to her lips.

Her eyes followed his fingers as they reached towards her mouth again. With no other reaction in her face, she still dutifully accepted the small clump of rice. He then repeated feeding her. Naruto noticed that as his fingers brought the rice to her lips, her gaze would switch from his eyes to his fingers. Then as he retracted his hand, she would return her lingering stare back up to his eyes. Secretly, he relished in this act and fully concentrated on gently feeding her.

When the rice was done and Naruto had nothing else to do except look into her pale eyes, he started to feel uncomfortable.

He spoke, "Um, Hinata I—"

"You care about me don't you," Hinata cut him off.

Surprised by her very uncharacteristic frankness, Naruto stammered, "O-Of, of, course, a, Hinata. I care about you a lot. As I said, you're my—"

"Then don't hurt me anymore."

Naruto watched her stony face, and how for the last week, it shut him out.

Hinata blinked.

And just like that, her mask crumbled. "Please, Naruto-kun, don't ever hurt me again," she confessed. Hinata then broke her hold over him and turned her face back into his shirt.

"I prom—"

"Please, Naruto-kun," she quickly spoke while bolting upright. "Don't make promises you…" she trailed off thinking it ludicrous that she would even have to tell him.

"I promise that I will not hurt you again, Hinata," Naruto replied sincerely.

"Okay, Naruto-kun," she said tentatively but quickly, fighting the familiar control she placed on herself for too long. "I forgive you."

"Really, Hinata?"

She then nodded her affirmation, too astonished for words, and was honestly surprised at how easy it was to forgive him. Just as a great weight lifted from her soul, Naruto added more to her body by giving her an almost bone-crushing hug. She did not mind, however, and really did not want him to let go.

After his pure glee subsided, Naruto instantly let go of Hinata, afraid that he might have hurt her.

"Thanks," he said after the fact. Hinata pulled her hair behind her ear and shyly smiled at him.

The two friends, their painful encounter put behind them, talked shoulder to shoulder for the rest of the day. Neither one could stop smiling while myriads of smiles, laughter, gesture, winks, and most of all, glances were passed between the two. Of course, Naruto could not stop talking. Hinata smiled, dutifully listening and content that her grief over him had passed.

"Hey, Hinata?" Naruto asked as the moon rose.

"Yes, Naruto-kun?"

"You don't suppose, that you might be up for, um…" he rubbed his stomach exaggerating its emptiness. When she did not respond, he added sheepishly, "…some ramen at Ichiraku's with me? Would ya?"

"Didn't we just have ramen earlier today?"

"Yes, but yours kind of spilled…" Naruto became flabbergasted as Hinata was already running away from him.

'_She's fast_,' he thought while he dumbly let her get away again.

He then turned around to fetch his jacket, and clean up any lingering trash, when he heard a commotion behind him. Assuming, it was just a rabbit, he ignored it and took his time.

Konohamaru would never forget the story Hinata told him about how his older brother screamed like a girl because he thought that she was a talking bunny.

"Are you coming?"

Once he got his breathing back under control, he caught up to Hinata and immediately noticed something important.

"The Flower!" he bellowed to her. "You're still wearing it! I cannot believe it! I swear I thought you destroyed it!"

Hinata let Naruto's excitement taper off before she spoke again.

"I told you what I would do with it if you left it with me," she said coyly. "Didn't I, Naruto-kun?"

The two friends silently walked along the dirty trail. Hinata smelled, more than saw, the flowers dotting the bushes and shrubs inside the untamed forest. Usually, she would take the time mentally catalog the different types and mark their location, but she ignored the pretty plants, because they meant nothing to her. She had her flower, and Hinata could feel it, not perched above her ear, but inside her heart. Deep inside, she would do her best to never lose it again.

"I'm glad you remembered," Naruto replied serenely.

Some kind of soft sound resembling the word "what" must have escaped her lips, for Naruto suddenly stopped walking and turned to her. She looked deeply in his eyes trying to find some hidden meaning behind his words.

When she could not find anything, despite Naruto's unfathomable seriousness, she turned and punched the Sugi tree for good luck. Looking back one last time, into the verdant foliage of their picturesque training ground, she just now realized how beautiful it was, almost like an oasis all their own.

"So do I, Naruto-kun" she replied evenly, while lovingly touching the healthy flower upon her ear.

"So do I."

* * *

Author's Notes:

Wow, well what could I say about the last 7ish months? I should probably start with a big THANK YOU! I'm really glad you enjoyed my story and I hope my latest chapter did not disappoint. I really want to mention everybody who gave me reviews, but honestly it is almost 7am here and I have been awake since 3am with a cold. I want to get this chapter up so you guys could enjoy, but I read all your reviews many times, and I will remember you if you reviewed before. Please know that I sincerely do appreciate you reading my chapter, and any forthcoming reviews, comments, words, whatever, mean the world to me.

Just a few words regarding the response to Chapter 3:

More than a few, including my new Beta Reader, thought Chapter 3's plot a little unbelievable if not weak. With that said, I concur and I will do my best to build better chapters in the future. I have come to realize that not all my audience is caught up with Naruto (like my Beta Reader) so I have give enough background so that they do not get lost and lose interest. I guess all authors walk a fine line between over-explaining the obvious and not explaining enough, and I'm the type that likes to keep my readers guessing :P

This may sound a little perverse, but I'm glad if you cried reading Chapter 3. It was meant to be emotional, and tears (or even any emotional response) meant I did my job properly. So thank you

Chapter 4 Notes:

I purposely did not describe Hinata's flower because I thought it would lose its symbolism. Interestingly, I would love to hear what type of flower my readers imagined in their head. Maybe, one day, I'll describe the flower I imagined while writing this chapter.

Originally, Chapter 4 was meant to be short, and my nickname for it was "Shorty." However, I am extremely happy with how this one turned out. I hate boring and obvious forgiveness/reconciliation stories, and I tried to almost deflect it with the introduction of the flower.

Chapter 5:

Part of why Chapter 4 took so long was I had to find the reason for writing. I'm almost ashamed to admit it, but I ignored it several times because I kept thinking it a waste of time. Fortunately (or unfortunately :P) I needed to keep writing. Chapter 5 will definitely not take as long, I'm aiming for a month, but please know that it takes time, so if it's not out, it means that I'm still diligently working on it.

Oh, and I have a life too so that gets in the way

If Chapter 4 was the reconciliation to the latter part of Chapter 3, then Chapter 5 finishes what the former part of Chapter 3 started. Keep in mind, however, that not everything will be answered right away, and I'm actually saving a lot of it for future chapters.

Oh, and I'm not drawing this story out, but in fact, I've known how I wanted it to end for almost a year now. It will be an arduous but extremely rewarding journey to get there.

Thanks again and I look forward to your comments,

Malakas.


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